SoundCloud announced on 26 August 2026 that artists can sell downloads from their own profile without the platform taking a commission. For now, only around 200 US creators chosen by the company can do so.
What has happened
According to its own announcement, the fan buys and downloads from the artist's profile without leaving the platform, at the price and in the format ("such as MP3 or WAV") set by the artist.
SoundCloud's commission is zero. The artist's income is not quite the whole amount. The text adds "less applicable fees and taxes" and "excluding standard fees and taxes", without saying how much they are or who charges them.
The scope is just as literal: around 200 creators with Artist Pro, based in the United States and with Fan Support switched on, chosen by SoundCloud. The announcement mentions no way to request access, and on the rollout it says only "later this autumn" and that it will reach all eligible creators. It names no country.
The company justifies the move with its own figures: 250,000 artists link 2.4 million tracks to stores outside the platform, and more than 500,000 users a year end up being sent to them.
Music Business Worldwide provides the market benchmark: Bandcamp keeps 15% of digital sales, or 10% once an artist passes $5,000, and the payment processor is charged on top.
Why it matters
The headline doing the rounds describes an open product. What actually exists is a closed pilot: one country, 200 accounts chosen by the company, and no opening date or market beyond "this autumn". For a Spanish artist, nothing changes.
The announcement promises the artist will keep "100% of every sale" and, on the same line and in brackets, excludes "standard fees and taxes" without saying how much they are. That bracket is the number that decides whether selling direct is worth it. The direction is recognisable, though: selling from the profile, as with tickets on Instagram and TikTok, and it arrives while platforms reshuffle what they display, as with Spotify's "AI Persona" label.