SoundCloud has started sending invitations to "SoundCloud Premier", a way for unsigned artists to monetize music on the platform if they're not yet represented by a label or distributor.
While SoundCloud's email might say "You're eligible!", this is actually not true if you're a music label distributed by Proton or an artist signed to one of our labels.
SoundCloud emailed *anyone* on SoundCloud that has over 1000 plays, without actually checking if they were eligible or not. Confusing!
Some key facts about SoundCloud's Premier program:
You're only eligible if you control 100% of your publishing, distribution, and master rights. This is not the case for artists or labels distributed by Proton.
At this time, the program does NOT support DJ Mix or podcast monetization.
To our knowledge, the monetization program is effectively the same monetization that music labels can receive on SoundCloud through Proton's direct deal with SoundCloud.
SoundCloud's Premier program is primarily aimed at artists who are NOT signed to a music label and want help monetizing their unsigned music on SoundCloud. Read more about the requirements and restrictions here.
OK - if I'm not eligible for SoundCloud premiere, then how do I monetize my music on SoundCloud through Proton?
If you're a music label signed to Proton, then you can ask Proton to enable monetization on your SoundCloud account and then enter an ISRC code on SoundCloud for each upload you want to monetize. If you're not setup already, contact us for details.