--- description: SoundCloud, the popular free music-sharing platform that has helped Lorde shoot to fame, is introducing advertisements to its service. title: SoundCloud Says It's Rolling Out Ads image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte63f168f0455825e/6986a053e53aba17cc4d419d/lorde.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Get Ready, SoundCloud Users: Ads Are Coming  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 21, 2014 12:06 PM CUT  Lorde performs during Lollapalooza 2014 at Grant Park on Aug. 1, 2014 in Chicago. Lorde performs during Lollapalooza 2014 at Grant Park on Aug. 1, 2014 in Chicago.Theo Wargo—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 21, 2014 12:06 PM CUT SoundCloud, the popular free music-sharing platform that’s helped artists like Lorde skyrocket to fame, is [introducing advertisements](http://blog.soundcloud.com/2014/08/21/introducing-on-soundcloud/ "undefined") to its service. The company said Thursday that select content creators will be able to authorize playing ads beside their tracks and collect some of the revenue from those ads. The ads will first roll out in the U.S., but they’re expected to appear for international users soon, SoundCloud [announced](http://blog.soundcloud.com/2014/08/21/introducing-on-soundcloud/ "undefined"). Ads mark a big step for the music streaming service, which has struggled to monetize its vast user base that includes some 175 million listeners a month. Until now, the service has earned revenue by charging some of its most active content providers. SoundCloud Chief Business Officer Jeff Toig [told the New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/business/media/popular-and-free-soundcloud-is-now-ready-for-ads.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") that most of SoundCloud’s ad revenue will go to content providers, including Sony/ATV, BMG, the comedy show Funny or Die, and independent rapper GoldLink, for example. SoundCloud has already signed up Red Bull, Jaguar and Comedy Central to run ads on the platform, according to the _Times_. But you may soon be able to skip the ads, if you’re willing to pay. The _Times_ reports that, over time, the service plans to roll out subscription plans for listeners who want to skip the ads, much like you can do on Spotify, another music-streaming service. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3153502/soundcloud-rolls-out-ads/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3153502/soundcloud-rolls-out-ads/"},"headline":"Get Ready, SoundCloud Users: Ads Are Coming","datePublished":"2014-08-21T12:06:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:00.575Z","description":"But you may soon be able to skip the ads by paying for a subscription","url":"https://time.com/3153502/soundcloud-rolls-out-ads/","keywords":["Companies","Tech","Music","music streaming","advertisements"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte63f168f0455825e/6986a053e53aba17cc4d419d/lorde.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte63f168f0455825e/6986a053e53aba17cc4d419d/lorde.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lorde","caption":"Lorde performs during Lollapalooza 2014 at Grant Park on Aug. 1, 2014 in Chicago.","creditText":"Theo Wargo—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3153502/soundcloud-rolls-out-ads/","name":"Get Ready, SoundCloud Users: Ads Are Coming"}}]}] ```