Spotify acquires music marketplace SoundBetter

SoundBetter boast 180 000 users. In June this year, the company launched SoundBetter Tracks, a service that allows users to license finished music with strong commercial potential across all genres, including pop, EDM and hip hop.

"We are excited to benefit from Spotify's global scale, resources and vision to expand our network and drive more economic opportunities for artists of all levels," SoundBetter co-founder and CEO Shachar Gilad said. "SoundBetter offers the most comprehensive global marketplace for music and audio production professionals for hire in the world along with a member community spanning 176 countries and 14 000 cities worldwide."

SoundBetter has been designed with tools for talent discovery, project management, payment facilitation and a review system that has elevated transparency and trust in a reputation-based music production industry, Spotify said. These tools will be integrated into the Spotify for Artists service and could be a boon for musicians in Africa who lack high-tech studio facilities or audio production knowledge.  

"As we build out our tools for creators, we want to give them the resources they need to thrive," Spotify product vice-president Beckwith Kloss said. "We're excited that creators can generate income through SoundBetter, as well as benefit from its network of top professionals from instrumentalists to songwriters to producers as they perfect their tracks."

The SoundBetter acquisition comes a month after failed efforts by Spotify to launch a direct music distribution platform through DistroKid, a service that supports cross-platform uploads.

Last year, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told Digital Music News that the company was working towards the self-sufficiency of artists. In April, Napster ranked Spotify as the service with one of the worst per-stream rates. The company reportedly pays $0.00437 per play, slightly ahead of Amazon and way ahead of YouTube. It is also fighting a US royalty increase of 44% alongside Google, Pandora and Amazon – a move that has been criticised by various players in the music industry.