Musicians are another group of people who took a large hit during the pandemic, but SoundCloud is stepping up to help the creators on their platform in need.
Variety reported that on Thursday, the online music streaming site announced a series of initiatives they plan to kick off to garner more attention for artists using the platform. SoundCloud described the plan as a $15 million investment to provide promotional support through their “artist accelerator program.”
“As the coronavirus crisis has unfolded, we’ve seen a global outpouring of tracks on SoundCloud with a 50% surge in creators uploading in the past month alone,” CEO Kerry Trainor wrote in a statement on their website. “But behind this creative response, we know there continues to be financial loss and uncertainty for our creator community.”
Programs within the plan include a new direct fan-support button for all artists, $5 million in free promotional support for all creators to drive more plays, a $10 million artist accelerator program to support independent artists’ career growth and the immediate launch of Repost by SoundCloud, a new marketing and distribution service.
Artists can now easily promote their music on other platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, and Instagram as well as claim content on YouTube and pitch tracks for playlists. With this service, artists can keep 100 percent of their SoundCloud royalties and 80 percent of their revenue from other services.
In addition to their own platform, SoundCloud also supports a plethora of services dedicated to the creative space including Kickstarter, Bandcamp, Paypal, and Patreon.
According to The Verge, SoundCloud recently partnered with Twitch in another relief effort to help fast-track musicians to affiliate status to unlock Twitch’s monetization tools.
“We understand our efforts here are no match for the care providers on the frontlines of this global crisis, but we will continue to look for ways to support our global SoundCloud community,” Trainor said.
Hopefully SoundCloud’s efforts can garner the attention artists need and support them during this trying time.
