Soundcloud is venturing into a new revenue stream. Similar to YouTube, they are going in the route of advertising partners. This revenue sharing program is only available to a select few. They released this today and as of now, there isn’t a timeline on when anything is taken place. There is a lot of resentment towards these changes. People feel that they are trying to squeeze money. I like to think that they’re just trying to appease everyone and run a business. Here is their press release:
Here’s some more detail about On SoundCloud, our new creator partner program. Here’s the full breakdown.
On SoundCloud has three tiers: Partner, Pro and Premier.
The Partner tier is for you if you’re just getting started: it’s free and easy to join the community, share your first track, receive feedback and get basic stats.
The Pro Partner level is a paid offering if you’re ready to take the next step On SoundCloud. Pros get more upload time, advanced tools, features like Spotlight and detailed stats. As an added benefit, at the Partner and Pro levels, we’ve increased upload time by 50% — you’ll get it automatically if you already have a Pro or free account.
At the Premier partner level, creators will have the opportunity to make money from their tracks through advertising. It also includes Pro features and more benefits. At launch, entry to the Premier tier is by invitation. Monetization occurs only on content when it’s played in the US. We’ll open up the program to more creators and more countries as fast as we can.
The introduction of advertising is an important step for creators. Every time you see or hear an ad, an artist gets paid. If you’re in the US, you’ll start to experience occasional ads from our brand partners. We’re bringing ads on gradually. In addition to supporting creators, ads will keep the service free and open for people to listen to SoundCloud.
Creators have been at the heart of SoundCloud from the beginning. As we continue to develop our creator partner program we will bring you more tools, support, offerings and opportunities. We can’t wait to hear what you create On SoundCloud!