SoundCloud to Let Artist Subscribers Keep 100% of Distribution Royalties
SoundCloud is repositioning its paid artist tiers to address streaming pay concerns with full royalty retention.
Overview
- Artist and Artist Pro subscribers will keep all distribution royalties, with SoundCloud removing its distribution revenue share by the end of November.
- The policy covers releases distributed to major platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and TikTok.
- Artists already retained royalties from plays on SoundCloud itself, and this change extends that model to cross‑platform distribution.
- A new fan‑support button enables direct contributions to artists with no platform cut, with reporting that free fan support is available in the U.S. only.
- CEO Eliah Seton framed the update as an all‑in‑one, artist‑first subscription focused on distribution, community and direct monetization.