SoundCloud has announced a new “Artist” subscription tier that “helps emerging and aspiring musicians get their music out to the world easily and affordably.”
The music streaming platform describes the tier – now renamed “Artist Pro” – as “bridging the gap between the basic tier for professional artists and the next professional tier”.
“We’re rebranding Next Pro to Artist Pro to better reflect the evolution of our product and our commitment to supporting artists at every stage of their careers,” SoundCloud said in a statement on Tuesday (December 17).
exist $3.25 monthly in the United States, or $39 Each year, a new Artist tier offers many of the same services as the Next Pro tier, but at a lower price. $8.25 For the newly renamed Artist Pro.
It offers three hours of upload time per month (compared to unlimited upload time on Artist Pro) and distribution of two tracks per month to SoundCloud, Spotify, apple music, Youtube, Tik Tokand 60+ other platforms; Monetization on SoundCloud and other platforms; Earn 1 credit per month for AI mastery.
The new Artist tier also allows promotion and playback of two tracks per month, compared to the unlimited tracks in the Artist Pro plan.
“Whether you’re recording your first track or starting to build a fan base, this new program can give you the tools you need to succeed without the high costs typically associated with professional music distribution,” SoundCloud said.
“By lowering the cost of entry, we are giving more artists the opportunity to enter the music industry, find an audience and start monetizing their work.”
SoundCloud said it piloted the program in Australia, Canada and New Zealand “with promising results”. We heard from thousands of artists, which confirmed our belief that emerging artists are hungry for affordable access to professional tools and distribution.
“By lowering the cost of entry, we are giving more artists the opportunity to enter the music industry, find an audience and start monetizing their work.”
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SoundCloud renamed its artist services platform SoundCloud for Artists in 2022, which is built on the Repost platform acquired by SoundCloud in 2019.
Since then, it has been working on providing new monetization tools, merchandise stores, and other features for artists. Earlier this year, SoundCloud launched Ascending, a new global artist development program designed to identify and promote breakthrough artists around the world.
SoundCloud said the program has been in pilot mode since early 2023 and has already helped artists such as Kenya Grace, Shaboozey, Barry Can’t Swim, TiaCorine, Teezo Touchdown and Odetari.
Earlier this year, SoundCloud launched Buzzing Playlists, a series of playlists based on fan engagement with music from Next Pro (now Artist Pro) artists. The First Fans program analyzes 3.5 million Next Pro tracks to make recommendations to potential fans. Next Pro customers have seen a 400% increase in average listening times, the platform said.
The program aims to solve the “zero plays problem” faced by many new artists today: a large portion of uploaded music receives few or no plays, getting lost in the sheer volume of music being uploaded – about 120,000 tracks per day, last count.global music business
