A SoundCloud artist subscription adds distribution and fan payment tools
By David Salazar | Published: 2025-11-03 11:00:00 | Source: Fast Company – technology
Throughout the streaming world, companies have focused on adding features that make their higher-tier subscriptions more valuable to users who consume their content. Anime streaming platform Crunchyroll recently added access to its digital manga library for high-paying customers. Spotify started — somewhat late — on the show High quality sound For its distinguished subscribers
SoundCloud takes a different approach. It operates a standard streaming platform, with 100 million licensed tracks. But SoundCloud also has an enviable base of creators — musicians, DJs, podcasters, and more — who have uploaded 300 million tracks to the service to reach fans and make money from their streams.
Now, a renewed subscription is rolling out that provides a redundant service to these artists, giving them more opportunities to get their music in front of fans who may eventually purchase an album or a piece of artist merchandise as streaming remains a step in the door to real profits.
SoundCloud’s new offering enables subscribers in both tiers – Artist and Artist Pro – to distribute the music they have on SoundCloud to other streaming services, with SoundCloud passing 100% of those profits to the artists. With this update, SoundCloud will no longer take a 20% cut of the royalties it pays for streams, and 100% will go to the artists. Â
SoundCloud now also allows artists to receive direct support from fans. With the new features, the price of the Artist and Artist Pro subscriptions has not changed – $39 and $99 per year, respectively. It’s a move that recognizes that even if streaming isn’t where artists make the lion’s share of their money, they still need to reach as many people as possible — and SoundCloud helps save them money.
“If you are an artist you have to distribute your music and you are on social media platforms trying to build a following and get paid for it.” “With a whole bunch of things up the value chain, these subscriptions really start to add up,” says Elijah Seaton, CEO of SoundCloud. “What we’re trying to do is be this all-in-one package that gives you great value and you can start getting rid of some of those other subscriptions.”
Seaton knows the music industry — before joining SoundCloud in 2021, he spent more than a decade at Warner Music Group, including a stint leading its distribution and label services arm ADA. He understands the importance of getting artists in front of as many fans as possible. That’s why he’s betting that making distribution widely available for the first time will boost SoundCloud’s ability to not only attract new artists, but keep them on the platform as their stars rise by connecting them to the world. Very active listeners on the platform
“Historically we have been able to distribute to artists, but that has been geared more toward a traditional custom artist services relationship,” Seaton says. “This is a more scalable solution for artists at scale, and making it a feature of our paid subscription is a key element of the value proposition.”
The SoundCloud market is two-sided
In the world of streaming, Soundcloud, founded in 2007, has long been an anomaly. “It’s one of the only — if not the only — streaming platforms that really has a two-sided market,” says Tatiana Ciriciano, VP of music strategy at entertainment data and insights company MIDia.
Seton sees making distribution a standard part of artists’ SoundCloud subscriptions as a way to add value for those users.
The service’s $39-per-year Artist tier includes the ability to distribute and monetize two tracks per month, while the $99-per-year Artist Pro subscription allows artists to distribute unlimited tracks on other streaming services.
The move reflects a larger shift in the industry: record labels are losing their monopoly on distribution as artist-focused platforms offer alternative ways to reach listeners.
Cirisano points to TikTok’s SoundOn distribution service, which puts artists’ songs on streaming platforms and helps promote them on the video app. She says SoundCloud’s efforts are “the latest sign that distribution for the music industry has become a table stakes feature” for platforms that serve artists.
Seaton sees SoundCloud’s new distribution tools as essential to keeping artists on its platform. SoundCloud has no problem attracting up-and-coming artists — Seaton says 40,000 users upload their first track to SoundCloud every week. But when they reach a certain level and want to reach more listeners, they often choose to spend their money with pure play distribution companies. Now they can use SoundCloud to monetize their music as they grow.
New ways to connect with fans
SoundCloud also added the ability for fans to support an artist directly — and pay up to $1,000 — via the artist’s SoundCloud profile. The platform does not take any commission on these payments. Circiano sees it as a small but potentially meaningful option, similar to what Patreon has long offered creators and artists.
“I wouldn’t call it a change in how artists make income because I think there are a lot of cultural hurdles to adopting it,” Ceresano says. “It varies wildly depending on the fan base and the artist.” It’s all about how people perceive it and what it means to them to send money directly to the artist
The fan support feature comes on the heels of SoundCloud’s other fan engagement tools. Since 2023, SoundCloud’s AI-powered First Fans feature has been helping deliver new music to users they’re most likely to enjoy. This year it added services for its artist users, including a partnership with vinyl pressing tool ElasticStage to offer on-demand record compression. It also introduced a merch store that allows artists to keep 100% of their sales. Vinyl On Demand, which launched in July, currently has a waiting list for artists who want to use the service
Cerisano says these efforts could change the perception that SoundCloud is largely for early-stage artists who will move on to other services once they’re successful. (Billie Eilish famously uploaded her early recordings and connected with fans via SoundCloud.) “These opportunities allow artists to grow with the platform,” she says.
As the broader music industry focuses on monetizing superfans — highly engaged listeners who are happy to spend their money on vinyl and merch — Seaton says SoundCloud has large numbers of fans. He points out that 50% of SoundCloud listeners listen to new music and are looking for their next favorite artist, compared to 15% on other music streaming platforms.
“The future will be determined by the monetization of the relationship between artists and fans,” he says. “Instead of going out of the ecosystem to pay a different subscription where you don’t ultimately control access to your audience, we can fulfill that desire for you as part of our own subscription.”
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