SoundCloud linked up with Auracles, a digital identity thing created by Grammy winner Imogen Heap, to give artists better control over their stuff online. The deal was announced at Web Summit in Lisbon and lets musicians connect their SoundCloud accounts straight to Auracles so they can move projects back and forth between platforms. Artists get one spot to manage all their metadata, stems, press materials, bios, and contact info.
Heap has been working on artist ownership tools for over ten years, starting with her Mycelia research hub before building Auracles as what she calls a sovereign digital ID for creators. She thinks the partnership will kickstart a future marketplace where artists keep control of their work one song at a time.
The collaboration comes as AI-generated music blows up across streaming services, with one platform reporting that AI tracks make up a third of daily uploads. SoundCloud previously caught heat for saying it might use user content to train AI systems, but the company later walked that back and clarified it would not train generative AI models using artist material.
Heap has been working on artist ownership tools for over ten years, starting with her Mycelia research hub before building Auracles as what she calls a sovereign digital ID for creators. She thinks the partnership will kickstart a future marketplace where artists keep control of their work one song at a time.
The collaboration comes as AI-generated music blows up across streaming services, with one platform reporting that AI tracks make up a third of daily uploads. SoundCloud previously caught heat for saying it might use user content to train AI systems, but the company later walked that back and clarified it would not train generative AI models using artist material.
