Will this be the straw that broke the camel’s back for users?
SoundCloud continues changing the way it operates and this next move might make people a little irritated. Only one month from when news surfaced that they were partnering with record labels, SoundCloud is now headed into the monetizing business, offering ads (much like the way Spotify has them) to their own service thanks to a new licensing deal.
The change comes as labels have found it extremely difficult to make money off the service and pay out royalties to themselves, artists and publishers. If you’re an avid streamer of Pandora or Spotify, you’re very familiar as to how it works. SoundCloud is now joining the standard, but will offer premium service to it’s users can skip ads and continue using their platform like they always have.
After six years of helping artists come up off the ground, offering them an outlet to post mixes and exclusive songs directly to their service, it seems like a new day in the regime has begun. Unfortunately, it’s overseen by record labels.
Will it drive some of their core audience out, though? That is the question.
With roughly about 175 million, you’re bound to piss off a few, right? Not to mention all those who were already mad for seeing their songs/mixes taken down thanks to copyright infringements. But it seems like it’s a risk SoundCloud is willing to take.
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