The feature will expand out of beta this fall.
For nearly two decades, SoundCloud has been the place music fans have gone to discover new artists before they find mainstream success, but if you’ve wanted you to buy the tracks you love, you’ve had to go to other platforms like Bandcamp. That’s about to change. SoundCloud announced today musicians will soon be able to sell their music directly through its platform. The company says it will beta test the feature with 200 US-based Artist Pro subscribers before expanding availability to more creators sometime this fall.
As a music fan, you’ll be able to buy tracks you want to add to your collection through an artist’s profile page. SoundCloud won’t take a cut of sales — though artists will still need to pay processing fees and remit local taxes. The company will allow musicians to track their sales through its Artist Studio and Fan Support dashboards, and they can decide what digital formats they want to offer.
“Starting with a smaller creator group gives us a direct feedback loop: what’s working, where there’s friction and what artists want us to build next. We’ll use those learnings to refine the experience as we gradually expand access,” SoundCloud said. Soundcloud already has some avenues for musicians to make money directly, including ticket sales and on-demand vinyl pressings.
Whether you use SoundCloud or not, giving music fans a way to support their favorite emerging artists is smart business. Young people are increasingly buying music to own. It’s also well timed. In June, Bandcamp laid off most of its engineering team, sparking renewed fears the platform’s days were numbered after Songtradr, its owner, previously cut half of the company’s staff in 2023.
