SoundCloud cashes in on remixes and mixes through new paid model

With an agreement finally inked with Sony Music - the final major label in the platform's crusade to move towards a monetized system - SoundCloud seems closer than ever to its forthcoming paid tier system that has been looming in the platform's horizon for the past few years.

Now just a reported few weeks away from its launch, SoundCloud is revealing important details on how it aims to stay ahead of the heavily saturated streaming curve alongside steep competition like Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.

SoundCloud will hand over a new level of authority and decision-making to the labels, allowing the majors to decide which songs will be freely available - a liberty that has never been granted by other streaming platforms. In addition, SoundCloud will retain its core audience (bedroom DJs and remix culture) by offering a user-uploaded remixes and sets to be available both on the free and paid tiers as they have before.

Moving forward, SoundCloud will screen each remix and mix for licensed samples, and if any are detected, earnings will be split amongst copyright holders. Unfortunately, this new implementation doesn't mean complete elimination of the infamous "SoundCloud take down" as labels will still be able to pull down unapproved reworks at their discretion.

All in all, it seems as though SoundCloud is attempting to stay true to the community that helped popularize the platform while inevitably making the transition into a paid model. Stay tuned for more details as the platform rolls out its new paid tier soon.

[Via: Billboard]

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's West Coast Editor. Follow her on Twitter