Prime Highlights
- Seton said SoundCloud’s priority was to honour what Nina built while carrying its mission forward.
- Nina artists get a migration tool and a free SoundCloud Artist subscription through year-end.
Key Facts
- Nina Protocol let artists sell music directly to fans while keeping 100% of revenue.
- This is SoundCloud’s first acquisition since buying AI firm Musiio in 2022.
Background
SoundCloud announced this week that it is buying Nina Protocol, a decentralized music service which allows independent musicians to sell music directly to listeners and keep all the profits for themselves. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, and it is still unknown whether any member of the Nina team will join SoundCloud.
The purchase represents the first deal SoundCloud has done since purchasing AI music start-up Musiio in 2022. The move signals that SoundCloud is expanding beyond music hosting to build a broader platform for independent artists.
As part of the deal, SoundCloud will take ownership of Nina’s editorial archive and genre map. The company said this would help preserve Nina’s collection of music journalism, artist features and cultural commentary, and help surface emerging artists and scenes to more listeners.
SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton said Nina had built an incredible platform by putting independent artists and communities first, and that SoundCloud’s priority was to honour what they created while carrying the mission forward. He added that together, the companies would help independent artists build deeper fan relationships, unlock new ways to earn, and access tools to grow sustainable careers.
The acquisition comes just months after Nina announced plans to shut down its platform in late May, citing an inability to build a sustainable business model. The service, founded in 2021 by independent musicians, ran on blockchain technology for fast transactions and permanent decentralised storage.
SoundCloud is now offering Nina artists a migration tool to move their work to its platform, along with a complimentary Artist subscription through the end of the year, including monetisation and audience growth features.
