SoundCloud acquires decentralized music platform Nina Protocol months after its shutdown
News Source
β’Wed, 22 Jul 2026 19:42:56 +0000
π° What Happened
SoundCloud bought Nina Protocol, a platform that let independent artists sell music directly to fans. Artists kept 100 percent of their earnings on Nina. The deal money was not made public. SoundCloud will take over Nina's music archive and genre map. The company says it wants to help independent artists build better careers. This is SoundCloud's first purchase since it bought AI music company Musiio in 2022. Nina had shut down in May because it could not make enough money.
π The Backstory
Nina Protocol launched in 2021. It was built by independent musicians who wanted a fairer system for artists. The platform used blockchain technology to let artists run their own digital stores. But like many decentralized platforms, it struggled to turn its idea into a real business. SoundCloud started as a simple music sharing site. Over the years it has tried to compete with bigger services like Spotify. The purchase of Nina shows SoundCloud wants to focus on independent artists who feel left behind by big streaming platforms.
π― Why It Matters
This shows that even cool, artist-friendly ideas can fail without a solid business plan. But big platforms still see value in those ideas and want to bring them to more people.
SoundCloud bought Nina Protocol, a platform that let independent artists sell music directly to fans. Artists kept 100 percent of their earnings on Nina. The deal money was not made public. SoundCloud will take over Nina's music archive and genre map. The company says it wants to help independent artists build better careers. This is SoundCloud's first purchase since it bought AI music company Musiio in 2022. Nina had shut down in May because it could not make enough money.
Nina Protocol launched in 2021. It was built by independent musicians who wanted a fairer system for artists. The platform used blockchain technology to let artists run their own digital stores. But like many decentralized platforms, it struggled to turn its idea into a real business. SoundCloud started as a simple music sharing site. Over the years it has tried to compete with bigger services like Spotify. The purchase of Nina shows SoundCloud wants to focus on independent artists who feel left behind by big streaming platforms.
This shows that even cool, artist-friendly ideas can fail without a solid business plan. But big platforms still see value in those ideas and want to bring them to more people.