Two weeks ago 5 Mag launched our #StayHomeDisco series of mixes of DJs in lockdown releasing some tight DJ sets from their homebase.
Part of our goal was to bring to music what has already become prevalent in streaming – the notion of tipping the creator if you like the content they’re creating. What largely began as a result of plummeting online advertising rates has become something of a huge industry itself, with Patreon, Streamlabs and other sites rising up to handle recurring and one-time donations.
SoundCloud has apparently had the same idea, and they’ve now introduced a more elegant solution to support DJs, producers and creators.
SoundCloud creators can now add a “direct support link” which will create a button linked to either financial exchanges or online services like Patreon, Paypal or online stores. SoundCloud is supporting the following services:
- Paypal
- Cash.app
- Venmo
- Bandcamp
- Shopify
- Patreon
- Kickstarter
- GoFundMe
Oddly, SoundCloud is implying that this is a temporary feature – they state they will “keep it active as long as we’re all in this.” I think most music industry folks can tell you we were kinda always “in this.” Direct donations should be an alternative in an environment when the purchase of new music has been for many superseded by a $10.99 Spotify subscription.
For details on setting up Direct Support Links, see SoundCloud’s step-by-step instructions.
