SoundCloud Partners With elasticStage on Vinyls for Artists

Music-streaming platform SoundCloud is collabing with vinyl-and-CD maker elasticStage to give artists the ability to press vinyls of their music.

The Big Sound: Vinyl sales have been steadily increasing for years now, fueled by nostalgia for analog technology and a desire for a higher-quality listening experience. Artists and labels have taken notice and now regularly press albums on the format, often with limited-edition tracks included… which has only juiced demand for the format even more.

Behind the Curtain: The indie-vinyl market is about to take off.

• With the elasticStage partnership, SoundCloud Artist Pro users will be able to “sell vinyl records of their music with no upfront cost and no minimum order requirement,” per Variety.
• The vinyls can include any music uploaded to SoundCloud (of course), with the ability to add credits and upload unique artwork to be used on the record jacket.
• Fans can purchase the vinyls on demand, which are available for shipping to 90 countries.
• Artists will start making money immediately, but it isn’t clear yet what percentage of the sale SoundCloud and elasticStage will take.
• The partnership kicks off with vinyls already available to order from artists such as AM.RADIO, Blonde Maze, Diorvsyou, Kelcey Ayer, and Raina Simone.

Final Tracklist: Vinyl sales have skyrocketed 300% since 2016, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Living off streaming royalties is notoriously impossible for the vast majority of artists, so SoundCloud is betting that giving them the ability to sell their music as physical media could put a little more cash in their pockets. 2025 is starting to feel a lot like 2005.

Prediction: Don’t be surprised if aspiring artists start hiding their vinyls at your local record shop in an effort to get noticed.