Even after COVID-19 lockdowns across the globe increased the demand for digital events, musicians have found it difficult to monetize on live-streamed performances. Mixcloud hopes to provide a solution. The music streaming platform now allows content creators to host pay-per-view streams on the 100% copyright-cleared Mixcloud Live service they debuted in April.
Tickets, as the feature is aptly named, enables artists to charge a fee for access to their Mixcloud Live broadcasts. At launch, it’s only available to a limited pool of artists. Experimental singer and songwriter Lafawndah tops the bill of the first Tickets live stream on October 25th, followed by an event headlined by Flying Lotus featuring Brainfeeder artists on the 31st. Then, in November, Róisín Murphy is slated to perform for a pay-per-view event on the 14th with another headlined by Leon Vynehall on the 21st.
“Live streaming on Mixcloud was received with amazing enthusiasm and has been a game-changer for us,” said Mixcloud CEO Nico Perez. “Launching Tickets is our next step in helping artists and creators generate new income and building out a full-stack music platform, with creators at the core.”
Mixing Up the Market
Mixcloud has emerged as something of an unexpected contender in the market DJ live streams – which has otherwise been dominated by Facebook and Twitch.
Facebook’s staggering user base has guaranteed its position as a go-to platform for live streamers irrespective of genre, but its selective enforcement of music guidelines has posed challenges for disc jockeys in particular. Meanwhile, Twitch is beta testing a Soundtrack tool that would provide copyright-cleared music for content creators – although streamers cueing up music outside of the feature still run the risk of getting penalized.
At 20 million monthly users Mixcloud has roughly 1% of the audience Facebook does, but the legal advantages of the platform make it a viable option nonetheless. Operating on a similar license to those used by radio stations enables the service to make royalty payouts based on songs selected for Mixcloud Live DJ streams.
Artists and promoters can sign up for early access to the Tickets feature via Google Forms.
