SoundCloud is giving fans a new way to support artists—and this time, they won’t have to leave the platform to do it.
The company has launched a beta feature allowing select artists to sell downloadable music directly from their SoundCloud profiles, with fans able to discover, purchase and download tracks all in one place.
Perhaps the biggest part? SoundCloud says it won’t take a commission on those sales.
According to Music Business Worldwide’s report, artists will receive the proceeds from each purchase, minus applicable fees and taxes.
Buy the Track Without Leaving SoundCloud
The beta is initially launching with approximately 200 U.S.-based Artist Pro creators who have Fan Support enabled.
Participating artists can choose which eligible tracks they want to sell, set their own prices and track purchases through Artist Studio and the Fan Support Dashboard. Fans can then purchase and download the music in whatever format the artist provides, including formats such as MP3 or WAV.
SoundCloud plans to gradually expand the beta before making the feature available to all eligible creators later this fall.
The demand may already be there. SoundCloud says more than 250,000 artists have linked over 2.4 million tracks to external music platforms, while the company sends more than half a million users to outside services to purchase music each year.
Now, SoundCloud wants those transactions to happen directly where fans are already listening.
SoundCloud Pushes Further Into Direct-to-Fan
The new feature is another step in SoundCloud’s growing focus on helping artists make money directly from their audiences.
Artists should be able to build their audience in one place, on one platform,
SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton
Direct purchases join other artist monetization tools already available through SoundCloud, including Fan-Powered Royalties, Fan Support and on-demand vinyl. The company also acquired independent music platform Nina Protocol in July.
For electronic music producers in particular, direct downloads could be an interesting addition. SoundCloud has long been a destination for discovering underground tracks, edits and emerging artists, while platforms like Beatport and Bandcamp have traditionally handled the actual purchase.
Now, that gap is getting a little smaller.
As The Verge reports, fans participating in the beta can go from discovering a track to purchasing the downloadable file without being redirected to another marketplace.
For artists, it’s another revenue stream. For fans, it’s one less tab to open.
And for a platform built around music discovery, letting listeners directly support the artist behind the track feels like a pretty natural next step.
