a multi-level artist development model that can dedicate increasingly substantial resources to indie artists as they grow their careers. On the other hand, it moves SoundCloud closer towards the territory of being… well, not exactly a record company, but more akin to the likes of AWAL. On the one hand, this an obvious next evolution for SoundCloud’s creator-facing services business, which has been accelerating ever since the firm acquired subscription-based artist services platform Repost for around $15 million in 2019. The acts that make it into this tier will receive weighty creative and financial resources from SoundCloud, with some receiving meaningful levels of financial advances and marketing support.Įight artists have initially been signed to this “roster”, including acts who previously built their profile at large-scale record companies – amongst them Lil Pump (formerly signed to Warner), Atlanta-based rapper MadeinTYO (formerly signed to Commission/ BMG), and Nigerian act Tekno (formerly signed to Sony and Universal).Įach of these artists will maintain ownership of their underlying copyrights, but have essentially ‘signed to SoundCloud’ – with the company representing their new recordings via an exclusive licensing agreement.
The company revealed in an expansive Billboard profile last month that it’s launching a new white-glove tier of service for indie artists what it calls the SoundCloud “roster”.