On June 16, SoundCloud announced that all tracks hosted on third-party sites using the SoundCloud’s player will be limited to 15,000 plays in a 24-hour period. Once that 15,000 mark is exceeded, the link will go dead.
SoundCloud declared that this measure was to prevent “applications that abuse creator content” from violating their terms of use. It also noted that “only a small number of developers will be affected by this change.”
This move will enhance Soundcloud’s revenue by letting them place more advertisements from their website which can be accessed using 2015’s best cheap hosting deals. SoundCloud does not get advertisement revenue when its systems are used to stream music on a third-party website.
Some people are concerned about these limitations on streaming. The comments on the SoundCloud’s press release are generally negative. One user said “Do not do this. You’re pushing people away.” Another declared that SoundCloud was burying itself deeper into the ground.
But despite these concerns, the reality is that this will affect only a small number of developers. Most developers do not attract enough interest to break the 15,000 plays limit in the first place. Meanwhile, extremely large developers will be able to afford the costs of this policy. SoundCloud also gave those developers a 15-day period to redesign their websites to adjust to this change.
As The Verge noted about this policy, “this probably won’t affect your day-to-day musical experience.”
The ability to turn a website with many users into money is a problem which streaming websites have struggled with for the past few years. But SoundCloud has other ways to make money beyond imposing streaming limitations. The website announced this past week that the Merlin Network, which owns over 20,000 independent record labels, has become one of SoundCloud’s Premier Partners.
This royalties deal will enable SoundCloud to place Merlin’s vast array of labels on its websites, complete with advertisements. As other paid streaming websites like Spotify and Tidal rise, SoundCloud will continue to look for ways to increase its profits.
