SoundCloud Helping Artists to Design for New Merch Stores
August 15, 2024
Music streaming service SoundCloud has added a digital merch outpost, the SoundCloud Store, where select artists who have signed up for the paid Next Pro tier can design exclusive merchandise for their fans — “with minimal effort — letting them focus on their craft while driving meaningful revenue beyond streaming.” The items will be manufactured by SoundCloud, which is launching what it calls “the first edition” of the SoundCloud Store in the U.S., Canada and European Union. Only artists that own 100 percent of their merchandise rights are invited to apply to participate.
The store launched this week with merch from artists including Wiz Khalifa, Denzel Curry and Armani White. SoundCloud explains that “100 percent of the profits” will go “directly to the artists,” indicating they will subtract manufacturing costs.
“SoundCloud knows that streaming isn’t enough — for artists or for fans. We also know the power of fandom, which is why we’re constantly working on improving how artists and fans connect and share through music,” the Berlin-based company said in an announcement.
“SoundCloud said that once the artist submits a design, the company will create mock-ups for them, produce goods for them and list the items on the SoundCloud Store. What’s more, the company will handle fan engagement and social promotion for this merch,” TechCrunch reports, noting that helping artists earn through ancillaries is a popular trend among music streamers.
Spotify has tools that let artists host their merchandise catalog on their pages, while Amazon Music works with Bandsintown to offer such services. TikTok and YouTube provide similar features, allowing creators to tag products from their videos that can generate sales revenue through an affiliate system.
SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton has been bolstering the idea that “superfans can drive consumption and revenue for artists,” writes Music Business Worldwide, detailing how the merch store “follows the streaming platform’s previous fan-focused initiatives such as the launch of the Fan-Powered Royalties model, also known as the user-centric streaming payment model, in 2022, and the introduction of the Fans tool last year, which allows artists to directly message their most dedicated listeners.”
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