Entertainment 2 min read 42m ago

SoundCloud Launches Zero-Fee Music Sales

SoundCloud has launched a beta feature enabling artists to sell music directly from their profiles, taking zero commission on every sale.
The platform currently redirects more than 500,000 users per year to external retailers such as Bandcamp and Beatport, which take cuts of up to 50 per cent or more.
The feature is initially limited to 200 Artist Pro subscribers in the United States, with a wider rollout to eligible creators planned for later this autumn.

SoundCloud has introduced a beta feature allowing artists to sell music directly from their profiles on the platform, removing the need to redirect fans to third-party retailers such as Bandcamp or Beatport. The company says it will take no commission on any sale, meaning the full purchase price goes to the artist.

A Commission-Free Alternative

The financial contrast with existing platforms is significant. Bandcamp retains between 10 and 15 per cent of each transaction, while artists on Beatport receive roughly 50 to 65 per cent of their sale price. SoundCloud's decision to waive its own cut entirely positions the feature as a more favourable commercial arrangement for independent creators, at least in its early form.

SoundCloud says more than 250,000 artists have already linked upwards of 2.4 million tracks to external music retailers via the platform, and that it directs more than half a million users annually to those third-party outlets to make purchases — traffic that, under the new arrangement, it aims to retain on its own service.

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Limited Rollout, Expansion Planned

Access to the sales feature is initially restricted to 200 Artist Pro subscribers based in the United States. SoundCloud has indicated it intends to widen eligibility to all qualifying creators later this autumn, though it has not specified the precise criteria for that broader rollout. Fans will be able to purchase tracks in whatever format the artist provides, including MP3 and WAV files.

The move follows SoundCloud's launch of an All-in-One artist subscription in November of last year, under which creators retain 100 per cent of their distribution royalties. Both initiatives reflect the platform's stated ambition to evolve beyond streaming and music discovery into a more comprehensive commercial environment for artists — one where creators can, in SoundCloud's own words, "get heard, connect with fans, and earn — all in one place." As debates over artist revenue intensify across the music industry, SoundCloud's commission-free model will face scrutiny over whether it proves sustainable alongside its other creator programmes. The broader pressures facing the music sector make the terms on which platforms support independent artists an increasingly consequential question.

##SoundCloud ##MusicIndustry ##ArtistRevenue

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