After a recent collaboration with Portishead, streaming platform Soundcloud has started a new “fan-powered” royalty program, where a listener’s subscription or advertising revenue goes directly to the artists to whom they listen to in a given period of time. Since launching in March, Portishead released their ABBA cover of “SOS” in July and has since earned six times more than the “pro-rata” model that streaming platforms such as Spotify use, where artists get paid depending on the number of streams they receive. That is equivalent to 500 percent more than it typically would on other streaming platforms in less than a month.

A SoundCloud representative said in a statement that “full aggregation of market-live payout data is pending over the coming months. The model is tracking as expected and the Portishead stat is a strong confirmation of the model’s design—fan engagement is driving meaningful revenue.”

Portishead’s own Geoff Barrow spoke on the program to Pitchfork via phone, calling it “a real opportunity for people who want to support artists.” He continued to say “I didn’t expect huge amounts of people to listen to [‘SOS’]. It was more about getting the idea out that you could stream music and it could make money…. It’s the difference between being able to order a pizza and someone actually paying the rent.”

The movement to have streaming platforms be more user-centric was from the #BrokenRecord campaign, a UK movement that led to an inquiry into whether platforms like Spotify and Apple Music are fairly redistributing their revenue to artists. Barrow caught wind of this and has supported it since.

SoundCloud CEO Michael Weissman said in a statement that the platform would “better support independent artists” shortly after launching. “Artists are now better equipped to grow their careers by forging deeper connections with their most dedicated fans,” he said. “Fans can directly influence how their favorite artists are paid.”

Hi @SoundCloud @SCsupport
Can you comment on this ? https://t.co/x3sBCOFrTj

— 🏴‍☠️ Geoff Barrow 🏴‍☠️ (@jetfury) September 16, 2021

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat