A smaller player in the crowded and convoluted internet streaming world, 8tracks took a big step today with the announcement that it has signed direct licensing deals with INgrooves, CD Baby, DashGo and Steve Aoki's Dim Mak Records. The move brings an extra 6.5 million songs into 8tracks' library.
8tracks has traditionally worked by allowing users to create playlists on the site using songs on soundcloud or from their mp3 collection. The playlist is then added to the site and tagged by genre for public use. The service has been popular among those 18-24, ranking 3rd in global and 4th in U.S. audience in terms of internet radio stations, according to Billboard.
One of the issues that 8tracks is attempting to attack head on is that streaming is becoming more and more important, notably for young music listeners, leaving them with less new MP3s. Soundcloud is a good source of music, but it is tenuous with its, at times, arbitrary copyright enforcement and difficult negotiations with the majors.
"Historically, DJs on 8tracks have been primarily relying on SoundCloud streaming or their MP3 collection - it's been a bit of a drag," founder and CEO David Porter told Techcrunch. "This our first foray into direct licenses. It reduces the friction when you create a playlist."
Porter told Billboard that the company hopes to bring more indies into the fold and "talks are progressing" for similar deals with the majors. The exact terms of the current deals with Dim Mak, INgrooves, DashGO and CD Baby have not been disclosed, but based on past negotiations, similar deals may be hard to reach.
The new direct licensing approach will create a system where royalty payouts are sent directly to the labels and not through a SoundExchange like Pandora or the many other streaming or online radio services.
Another new feature being rolled out to the improved library is crate, which will allow users to "like" a song they hear and it will be saved onto their profile where they will create their own personal repertoire of music. The ability to create playlists in a more streamlined fashion will be helpful for mobile users, which make up 2/3s of the application's base.
