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Soundcloud’s New $9.99 Streaming Service to Compete With Apple Music [Updated]

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In a recent update to its iOS app, popular streaming music platform Soundcloud added a subscription model into the service that will provide users with a few premium monthly upgrades on top of the discoverability and personalization previously offered.

As discovered by The Verge, the service is called "Soundcloud Go" and will run users $12.99 on a monthly basis if purchased through the App Store, with a free 30 day trial to test the waters beforehand. Outside of the iOS App Store, SoundCloud Go will cost $9.99/month.

New-SoundCloud-iPhone-app_1
The announcement has yet to be made official by Soundcloud, but in the version 4.0.0 update release notes, the company lists a few ways upgrading to the monthly subscription could benefit its users. These advantages include a bolstered track list, the ability to listen offline, and the removal of interspersed advertisements within playlists.

Upgrade to SoundCloud Go to:
- Play all tracks
Access a newly expanded catalog of everything from Grammy-winners to garage bands

- Listen offline
Listen to your favorite tracks anytime, anywhere, with or without a signal

- Go ad-free
Listen without any ad interruptions

Soundcloud Go joins a growing list of streaming music services on offer for users to choose from, most of which are available on iOS for $9.99 per month: Apple Music, Spotify Premium, and Tidal, among others. There are variations on monthly subscriptions when factoring in family plans and an upper-tier "Tidal HiFi" offering that promises better quality sound for $19.99/month, but for the most part SoundCloud Go will enter the streaming music market at the same level as its rivals.

SoundCloud can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Update: A previous version of this article stated the monthly cost of SoundCloud Go was $12.99 everywhere, but the company has confirmed that price is only due to the fee Apple charges for App Store subscriptions.

Tags: Apple Music Guide, SoundCloud

Top Rated Comments

_Refurbished_ Avatar
_Refurbished_
137 months ago
Today, I'm subscribing to Soundcloud.

- said no one ever
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
Paradoxally
137 months ago
$12.99 to listen to crappy mixtapes and EDM samples? You're having a laugh.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
oneMadRssn
137 months ago
What one of these streaming services needs to do to entice me to one of these obscene monthly subscriptions is to give 5-10 songs of the user's choice per month permanently, even when the subscription runs out.
Zune Music Pass used to offer this. Unlimited streaming, fill you Zune player (*snicker*) with as much DRMed offline music as you want, and choose 10 songs per month to keep permanently. It was $15/month. One those examples when a Microsoft product was too far ahead of its time. Compared to today's landscape, I would take that subscription plan over Spotify and Apple Music.
[doublepost=1459265290][/doublepost]
How is $10/month obscene? That is basically the cost of one album.
That's sort of the problem right? It costs about as much as one album, and at the end of the month, you have zero albums. Unless you pay again...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
Mjmar
137 months ago
Are they kidding
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
Rogifan
137 months ago
Should be priced at 9.99 same as Apple. Competition is good for everyone
It is if subscribed outside of App Store. Apple shouldn't be getting 30% of monthly subscription fees anyway. Apple isn't hosting the content so what is the 30% for? A commission for having access to the iOS install base? Does that warrant $3/mo for every subscription? I don't think so.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zimmy68 Avatar
Zimmy68
137 months ago
I just don't get how these companies sit around and come up with this $12.99 price point.
That horse has left the barn. There are too many other options to survive with that.
You charge $2 - $5, people wouldn't think twice, but $13? Are you kidding me?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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