SoundCloud has 175 million unique users monthly, 40 million registered users and is worth £3bn (according to WorthofWeb.com), which goes some way to explaining why Sony and other major labels are so keen on getting their unlicensed content removed from the service.
It appears that the social-networking music site is taking steps to appease these qualms in a leaked, unsigned contract that details a triple-tiered paid subscription model, as first reported by Digital Music News. Although the lowest tier will remain free, the ‘Additional Services’ second tier would give labels $0.18-a-month per user, rising to $0.80-a-month for the highest, ‘Full Catalog Subscription Service’ tier. The leaked contract is specifically aimed at a group of independent music publishers, agreeing to pay them an advance of $350,000 to be shared between the group based on their individual share of the music listened to on the service. Whilst a similar deal with Sony and other major labels seems likely, thanks to SoundCloud’s drive towards increased monetisation for their service, nothing has been confirmed yet, and the only major label to strike a deal with SoundCloud so far is Warner. Doubts may still remain as to whether the website can generate enough revenue from their services to appease the other labels. You can read the 17-page contract in full below:
