Sony Pulls Hozier + Passion Pit’s Music From Soundcloud After Licensing Deal Breakdown

Last year, reports surfaced that Soundcloud was in talks with Sony, Universal and Warner to complete licensing deals. Now, it appears Soundcloud’s negotiations with the former label have collapsed, and Sony has removed music from several of its artists -- including Hozier, Passion Pit, MS MR and more -- from the platform.

An executive close to the deal told Billboard that Sony pulled out of the deal due to “a lack of monetization opportunities.”

“We are in ongoing conversations with major and independent labels and will continue to add partners to the program,” a Soundcloud spokesperson said. “We’ve always put control in the hands of creators, and anyone who makes music and audio can decide when and how they want to share it with fans, allowing artists to essentially broadcast out to the world the availability of new content.”

Following the announcement the Berlin-based audio-streaming website was in works with the three major music labels, Soundcloud unveiled its first ad-supported model, On Soundcloud, in August of last year. Since then, the Soundcloud rep said the site has doled out more than $2 million in revenue to its more than 100 partners.

“[Soundcloud has] been a good place for exposure,” an artist manager told Billboard. “At the same time, artists and labels need to get paid for music. Until that can be worked out, we’re going to have situations that are incompatible with artist development.”