SoundCloud’s free service will be supported by audio advertising, mobile interstitials, as well as promoted tracks, creator partnerships.
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In terms of the new features on the SoundCloud subscription service, the obvious thing is users don’t have to listen to ads. As SoundCloud’s United Kingdom advertising partner, Dax will take responsibility for interstitials, as well as the audio ads that listeners will hear when listening to content from creators who participate in the SoundCloud monetisation programme.
“Since 2008, SoundCloud has been the destination for emerging artists, and we now have 12 million creators globally, with 175 million users, the new service will give them 125 million tracks at their finger-tips globally”.
You’ll have access to a wider selection of tracks in comparison to the standard SoundCloud you’re used to listening too.
Spotify had 30 million subscribers at the end of March, while Apple Music had a tally of more than 10 million subscribers early this year. The company claims Soundcloud Go has been well received in the US. “That’s going to be a big problem for them”.
While we could say that SoundCloud has been late to the music streaming party, the strategy that the company is applying will help it monetize fast enough. “The impact on engagement has been negligible”, he said. It said Go is the “next significant step” in its development.
The company reached licensing agreements with Warner Music and Merlin, a network of independent labels, in 2014. Right now, that differs from other online streaming services, where artists can pay a small, sub-$20 annual fee to a digital distribution company – like TuneCore, Distrokid, or CD Baby – for their music to be placed on a number of streaming platforms and they can be compensated per download or stream. “One of the things we are most excited about here is the fact that we have actually gotten the whole industry on board with a plan to embrace that and to monetise more broadly across those different layers of content”.
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Moore, who joined SoundCloud in the first quarter of this year, also explained how the music streaming service intends to further its audience in more-and-more sophisticated means. That’s become a really powerful way for artists to connect to fans.
