SoundCloud considering payout system for popular users

Free audio platform SoundCloud is considering a new payout system that will see highly viewed accounts receive remittance.

The Guardian spoke to SoundCloud co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Eric Wahlforss who said the company has plans to pay popular artists who upload content to the music streaming service.

“Right now in the US we’re experimenting with different monetization approaches,” he said. “We’re […] throwing a couple of things out there and testing the waters a bit. We’re super-excited about where this stuff can go.

“When you have millions of followers and millions of listeners, you’ve got [a] point [in] expecting there to be some sort of monetization there. We hear that loud and clear.”

Among the many recent updates SoundCloud have unveiled, including an upgraded app which focuses on listeners ‘feeds’ and trending tracks, and doesn’t allow artists to upload content, is the testing of native advertising – where brands submit contextually relative content.

Since its inception in 2008, SoundCloud has become the second largest music streaming service globally with 250 million listeners per month, behind YouTube of course. The Guardian reports two-thirds of all SoundCloud use is on mobile devices, an increase which doubled from just six months ago.