SoundCloud, the music service beloved by indie musicians everywhere, has today announced it is joining the likes of Spotify, Apple and Napster with SoundCloud Go, its first paid music streaming service.
Priced at $9.99 through its website or Android app (or $12.99/month through the Apple App Store), the premium experience will shoo ads and enable users to take their favourite tracks offline.
Known for its grassroots community approach to music, the firm has recently come to an arrangement with the Performing Rights Society to ensure royalties are paid correctly to its thousands of unsigned musicians as well as signed artists. In addition, SoundCloud Go adds new licenses to the fold from labels including Warner, Sony and Universal.
With criticism mounting on how any freemium services were able to continue operating, this announcement seems a step towards protecting the company financially for the next few years.
One has to wonder if the world really has room for another music subscription, and if the bulk of those seeking one have already chosen their partner. That said, SoundCloud does have a differentiated produce that will appeal to those who favour discovery over all, and it should be noted that the free product isn't going away.
SoundCloud Go is available for download on its website, Google Play and the App Store but only in the US for the moment. As for the rest of the globe? We've pinged for comment, and plan to update this here article once we hear back.
