Getty Images has partnered with
SoundCloud Music in a deal similar to the one they have with Flickr. The more than 20 million registered users of SoundCloud can make their original content available for licensing simply by adding the Getty “license” button to their SoundCloud player.
SoundCloud users can embed the license button immediately after they’ve hit publish, removing much of the friction traditionally associated with licensing music for visual projects. After that if someone wants to license rights to use a creator’s content Getty will handle the negotiations. Getty cautions customers that if a track has never been licensed, the process of getting the necessary clearances may take between a few days and a few weeks. (See
rate card)
SoundCloud is a community that works much like Facebook. In fact when you go to their home page you are asked to “Sign in with Facebook.” SoundCloud provides an audio platform where anyone can upload, record, promote and share their originally-created sounds across the internet, in a simple, accessible and feature-rich way.
SoundCloud encourages users to join and build communities that are interested in certain types of sounds. One theory seems to be that someone within a creator’s community may want to license rights to a certain sound.
In addition, a handpicked selection of cuts will also have the opportunity to be featured in Getty Images Music’s curated
SoundCloud collection. Getty editors will choose sounds they believe have the greatest commercial potential. Commercial customers that license tracks from Getty have the advantage of knowing that they are not infringing someone’s copyright when they use the tracks.
SoundCloud's open platform also supports a wide range of applications built on the SoundCloud API, enabling everything from mobile voice recording, online mastering, digital distribution to Facebook artist profiles and iPad music making. SoundCloud offers free accounts to amateur creators, with more advanced users able to upgrade to premium accounts for advanced features like statistics, controlled distribution and custom branding