Though it's undeniably the industry leader, Spotify is most certainly a big tech company. And like most big tech companies, it has become almost comically evil. Notorious for low artist payouts, Spotify might face some tough competition from the artist-driven site SoundCloud, which has announced a new royalty sharing plan that makes a great deal of sense.
SoundCloud is describing the program as "fan-powered royalties." Starting on April 1, SoundCloud's Pro Unlimited subscribers will see their money distributed directly to whomever they've been listening to (after SoundCloud takes its cut).
Whereas big streamers like Spotify pool all of the money and divide it across the platform, the new SoundCloud program will directly pay the artists that a subscriber streamed, and no one else.
"With fan-powered royalties, money made from listeners goes directly to the artists they listen to," SoundCloud said in a statement. "This equitable payout model is what independent artists across the industry have been asking for, and as an artist-first platform, we're excited to be the first music company to roll it out."
The new system is broken down further with an excellent series of infographics that you can view here.
SoundCloud is describing the program as "fan-powered royalties." Starting on April 1, SoundCloud's Pro Unlimited subscribers will see their money distributed directly to whomever they've been listening to (after SoundCloud takes its cut).
Whereas big streamers like Spotify pool all of the money and divide it across the platform, the new SoundCloud program will directly pay the artists that a subscriber streamed, and no one else.
"With fan-powered royalties, money made from listeners goes directly to the artists they listen to," SoundCloud said in a statement. "This equitable payout model is what independent artists across the industry have been asking for, and as an artist-first platform, we're excited to be the first music company to roll it out."
The new system is broken down further with an excellent series of infographics that you can view here.
