For the past couple of years it’s looked like music streaming service SoundCloud was on the ropes in its battle against the big four record labels, but the ink has dried on a new agreement that signifies a cease fire with one of its most prominent opposers. SoundCloud has reportedly signed a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) in which the latter will now allow the former access to their music catalogue.
While electronic music fans can certainly rejoice that their preferred streaming platform probably won’t have to file for bankruptcy, the licensing agreement will undoubtedly have an impact on the way they use it to discover new music. UMGÂ Executive Vice President for Digital Strategy Michael Nash has revealed that one stipulation of the agreement is that the service will soon have to adopt a paid subscription model like that of Spotify, although there’s no word yet of what each subscription tier might look like.
Meanwhile, SoundCloud is also gradually incorporating a genre chart into its format with filters that include “Hot & New” and “Top 50.” Seeing as how the UMG licensing agreement will almost certainly alienate users similar to how the effects of their deal with Sony Music in 2014 eventually did, it makes sense that the service will need to give them as much incentive to keep using it as ever.
