Portishead, SoundCloud community favorites, make the track available to stream for the first time through Fan-Powered Royalties
July 8, 2021 – New York, NY – Today, Portishead released their cover of ABBA’s “SOS” exclusively on SoundCloud, marking the first time it will be commercially available on a major streaming platform. Portishead fans can now listen to their unique, haunting and dramatic take on the classic ABBA song. Revenue from its streams will be earned through fan-powered royalties, SoundCloud’s game-changing new payout model driven directly by an artist’s fan base. Stream it here.
“When we heard that SoundCloud switched to a fairer user-centric payment system of streaming music, we were happy to make it the only place to stream our unreleased version of ABBA’s ‘SOS’,” said Geoff Barrow of Portishead. “After recording it years ago for Ben Wheatley’s film HighRise, we are excited to finally share it with the world, and we are even more excited that all streaming profits are going to a great cause.”
“Portishead’s timeless sound has inspired countless artists and given rise to many emerging genres on SoundCloud,” says Michael Pelczynski, Head of Content & Rightsholder Strategy at SoundCloud. “We are honored Portishead chose SoundCloud, the only platform where the artist to fan connection is directly rewarded, as the first place to exclusively release their cover of this iconic song.”
As part of the release of ‘SOS’, SoundCloud and Portishead will make a contribution to Mind, a U.K. charity focused on mental health.
Streams from the track, which was originally created for the 2015 film High-Rise starring Tom Hiddleston and Sienna Miller, will earn revenue through SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties — an industry-first payout model available to independent artists monetizing on SoundCloud. Driven directly by an artist’s fan base, royalties from each listener’s subscription or advertising revenue is distributed among the artists they actually listen to, rather than their plays being pooled — benefiting independent artists with loyal fans. Fan-powered royalties is the latest way SoundCloud, the next-gen entertainment company, is offering more equitable and transparent options for emerging and independent artists to earn money. Learn more at fanpoweredroyalties.com.
SoundCloud is a next-generation music entertainment company, powered by an ecosystem of artists, listeners, and curators on the pulse of what's new, now and next in culture. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is an artist-first platform empowering artists to build and grow their careers by providing them with the most progressive tools, services, and resources. With over 250 million tracks from 30 million creators heard in 190 countries, the future of music is SoundCloud.