Over a month after a leaked contract broke the news of SoundCloud's plans to implement a paid subscription service the company's co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Eric Wahlforss has confirmed the move. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal Wahlforss steered clear of any specifics but announced plans to introduce the paid subscription service before the end of the year.
While Wahlforss didn't confirm or deny the details featured in the June leak, the contract that popped up online last month outlined a three-tier subscription service consisting of a free option and two premium offerings. The free option will allegedly give users access to a limited catalog with advertisements included while the cheapest paid service offers a larger catalog and an ad-free experience. The most expensive option would allow users unlimited and ad-free access to SoundCloud's entire catalog. The contract also alleged that labels would be paid as a function of percentage of streaming revenue, percentage of royalties, and on a per-user basis. (Labels would receive 18 cents a month for each paid user and 80 cents a month for each "Full Catalog" user.) As we pointed out last month, the payment system would guarantee income for labels even if streaming activity is relatively low.
Stay tuned for more details but plan on paying for your SoundCloud habits—or missing out on lots of music—before the end of the year.
