SoundCloud is changing the way it pays royalties to independent artists in a move that it says could see them earning 25% more than they are currently.
Fan-powered royalties are driven directly by an artist’s fan base, meaning that each listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is distributed among the artists they actually listen to, rather than their plays simply being pooled.
“Many in the industry have wanted this for years,” says Michael Weissman, Chief Executive Officer at SoundCloud. “We are excited to be the ones to bring this to market to better support independent artists. SoundCloud is uniquely positioned to offer this transformative new model due to the powerful connection between artists and fans that takes place on our platform.”
The new payment system has been introduced in response to requests from the artist community for a more equitable and transparent system, and could potentially help to give a leg up to artists who are just starting out. Starting 1 April, it’ll be available to all of the almost 100,000 artists who currently monetise their work through SoundCloud Premier, Repost or Repost Select.
Find out more about fan-powered royalties on the SoundCloud website.
