We have known for a long time that music-streaming royalties are broken. As earnings from the sale of body music have shifted, it has become increasingly difficult for many independent artists to make a living from recorded music.
All of this came to mind as the epidemic snatched the music straight out of the equation altogether. Some services are looking to reduce trends. Many popular Bandcamp per month is a notable example of Friday, offering artists and labels all earnings one day a month. Now how SoundCloud pays for its own individual creators – a move that could prove to be a great proof for musicians in a service that has given its name to at least one popular music subgenre.
The site will establish a new revenue structure early next month. SoundCloud thus breaks the “fan-driven” royalty; Fan-driven royalty is a more appropriate and transparent way for independent artists who monetize directly with SoundCloud to paid. The more fans listen to SoundCloud and listen to your music, the more you can pay.
Under the older model, your dedicated fan money goes into a huge pool of money for artists based on the share of total streams. This model benefits most mega stars.
Under fan-driven royalties, you paid based on the actual listening habits of your fans. The more time your dedicated fans listen to your music, the more money will pay. This model benefits independent artists. The service is available to independent artists who monetize their pages through selected Pro accounts.
There are a number of reasons for the final payment (the first of which will come in May), including whether the audience has a subscription, the amount they have heard from an artist compared to others, and the ads they have heard. Fine prints are available here.
Over the past year, musicians have become increasingly vocal about not being able to stop streaming earnings as the epidemic has cut off major sources of income. Spotify, in particular, has drawn harsh criticism as the company has spent millions on acquiring podcasts while maintaining musicians ’old revenue models.
