From CNET: The "YouTube for audio" joined a fast-growing list of streaming-music companies parading new ways for artists to get paid through their platforms, but it's adding more commercials to do so.
The Berlin-based music and audio-sharing company introduced a tier called Premier to its free and paid options, which will make it possible for uploaders to make money from the tracks they share, according to a blog post from founder and Chief Executive Alex Ljung late Wednesday. To make revenue to hand over to artists, SoundCloud is introducing "occasional ads," the company said.
SoundCloud, which lets anyone upload and listen to audio files, has 175 million unique listeners a month and hit its 250 millionth user milestone late last year. By comparison, US-based Pandora -- the Internet's biggest online radio service -- had 76.4 million active listeners at the end of June and also has more than 250 million registered users.
Up until recently, 7-year-old SoundCloud had relied on a "freemium" model to make money. A free tier let anyone upload and listen to audio files on the site, while a small set of users paid for a higher level of service with added features and benefits, which brought in the cash. In October, the company began its flirtation with advertising by introducing "native ads," which essentially stuck a visual commercial next to SoundCloud's audio player.
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