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0 pointssnickmy10y ago0 comments

I doubt Apple forced anything. Soundcloud has been working on this for literally 18 months. the only thing holding on was the Sony deal.

Dubset is doing a great job product wise. Really well done, unfortunately they coverage of licensing is really limited. They sort of jumped ahead and sold the platform before closing at least 50% of the deals (see for instance completely absence of the Merlin catalog).

Soundcloud has been always open, but struggled a lot in having a communication channel with their users. Seams getting better lately. Finger crossed!

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3 comments · 1 top-level

6stringmerc10y ago· 2 in thread

Fair counter and I was being a bit more tongue in cheek, sorry about that if it came off as sort of ignorant. I agree these deals are massive to construct, and the back-end has to be really interesting from a tech / rights standpoint. It has been, without a doubt, one of the biggest riddles for the instiutional players (re: rights & revenue). Again, sort of trying to be joking about the subject, but I bet it's a lot easier for SoundCloud to get 100% cooperation with major labels/societies by catering exclusively to them, and basically ignoring any potential compensation for the independent content creators (however minor it might be) - yeah I'm kind of slighting Merlin for only capturing its market, because I think there's probably a single digit percentage of content creators unaffiliated...not much, I know...

It just kind of feels bitter, like SoundCloud built their honest business on original content (not mashups), and then really is pivoting to the major monied players and hand-waving off the rest. If it's true I can understand it business wise, I can. I just...well, don't particularly like it on a personal level.

snickmyOP10y ago

I think, and I hope there is going to be a room for compromise there.

If they'll manage to tune their recommendation and discovery system in the right direction, they will be an appealing platform for both indies and majors.

Indies can finally get a prime time exposure within the major content. If you sound like taylor swift, and your lyrics are about breaking up with every possible person on earth, I think you should deserve a spot in an automatic generated 'San Valentine's day Single' along with her.

Majors can have a far better social layer that as it is today no one else has been able to create (Apple Ping anyone?). Soundcloud can offer that millennial generation engagement in a pure music context that so far has been lacking everywhere else. And Majors love millennials :)

I'm not saying it's an easy position to be in, and also, I wasn't myself that faithful about all this would have played out for SoundCloud, but to be honest, is an exciting time for the music industry.

6stringmerc10y ago

Very well stated and I like the perspective you've put forward. Rational and, it seems, also quite healthy for the major stakeholders. Breaking 'new' artists is a big deal, and profitable in the long run - especially if there's SoundCloud analytics behind the scenes pointing to new targets. Without a doubt I agree the majors have been successful in protecting their role as curators of taste in their own way; they've always been in a pretty strong position. Totally with you that this is a great time to be watching the tech and distribution and rights discussions taking place in music.

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