No management, no problem. If you think you’re the next Justin Bieber, but don’t have the major label backing to show the world your talents, Spotify has a fix for you, introducing a new feature on Thursday allowing indie artists to share their music directly to its platform.
The feature, still currently in beta testing, lets artists upload an unlimited amount of music for free via Spotify for Artists. Users will see a page allowing them to upload their music and artwork and pick a release date. The music won’t be instantly listenable to the app’s 180 million monthly users, a la Soundcloud, with Spotify recommending artists give the company five days to review content to make sure it doesn’t violate copyright laws.
“Just like releasing through any other partner, you’ll get paid when fans stream your music on Spotify. Your recording royalties will hit your bank account automatically each month, and you’ll see a clear report of how much your streams are earning right next to the other insights you already get from Spotify for Artists,” the company said in its blog post announcing the feature. “Uploading is free to all artists, and Spotify doesn’t charge you any fees or commissions no matter how frequently you release music.”
Allowing artists to directly share their music could revamp the streaming business — and potentially cut labels out of a significant cut of change. Spotify said it has tested the feature with a select group of indie artists to date. Not everyone can join just yet, however, with Spotify saying the feature will be available on an invite-only basis for the next few months. Artists hoping to get the invite can sign up for the company’s mailing list.