In a major move toward uniformity, SoundCloud has reportedly signed an agreement with Merlin, a music licensing agency, that will pay over 20,000 independent record labels in exchange for their music appearing on SoundCloud. The deal comes ahead of a planned subscription service and a more ambitious, longer-term goal.
The deal will allow Merlin’s members to monetize the revenue from uploads to the service through advertisements. It will also provide those members access to a richer set of data analytics, as well as the ability to remove infringing content from the service.
“The independent label community has long embraced SoundCloud as an innovative marketing and discovery platform, and Merlin is pleased to partner with the service at the next exciting stage of its evolution,” Merlin CEO Charles Caldas said in a statement. “Our deal significantly extends this existing relationship, and ensures Merlin members can participate fully in the long-term value of SoundCloud’s future.”
SoundCloud has already paid out more than $2 million to over 100 partners, says The Guardian; one of those beneficiaries is Warner Music Group. Sony, another of the three major labels, has recently started a concerted effort to remove its songs from the service, citing a lack of monetization opportunities.
Leave a Reply