I don't want to live in a world where it's impossible to upload a mix with Deftones in it. It's already really fucking up mixes-Dream Koala made me this amazing mix to upload to my Secret Songs SoundCloud but I can't because it has Deftones songs in it and shit, which is amazing and no one should be deprived of that. But when these sites change and get weird, there's always an alternative that someone's created just in the nick of time so everyone can jump ship with no worries. SoundCloud is taking that turn towards yuckiness, which most platforms do eventually. Are these changes good? Will they alter the way we share and consume music? Are there any alternatives? What's gonna happen to SoundCloud?
As SoundCloud moves towards a more industry-friendly model, will all those things change? While we don't yet know how these changes will affect the experiences of listeners and artists, we reached out to five songwriters, mix-makers, and devoted users- A-Trak, Ryan Hemsworth, Ricky Eat Acid, Kreayshawn, and "SoundCloud blogger" Odd Castles-for their initial reactions to the news. SoundCloud's already started including advertisements in their streams, and according to The New York Times, the site will also implement a new paid-subscription tier, as early as sometime in the first half of next year.įor years, SoundCloud has been a site where artists can upload their half-finished demos, remixes, bootlegs, and thrown-together mixtapes on a whim-straight from their hard drives or smart phones and into our lives. It's the first step in their long-stewing plan to pay artists royalties, but it's not the only change that's afoot. Last week, SoundCloud announced they'd finalized a licensing deal with Warner Music Group, guaranteeing that artists signed to the global label will get paid when their songs are streamed-even within DJ mixes.