SoundCloud buys Nina Protocol assets as Web3 music model falters

SoundCloud has acquired the editorial archive, genre map, and optional music catalogues of Nina Protocol. The deal was finalized roughly two months after the independent music platform announced it was shutting down.

The transaction highlights the ongoing consolidation of digital music distribution. Artists who migrate to SoundCloud’s creator ecosystem are being offered tools for direct fan monetization, promotion, and the ability to retain 100% of their royalties.

For Europe’s independent music economy, the acquisition is significant. Founded in 2021, Nina Protocol functioned as a blockchain-based marketplace built on Solana. It began as a direct-to-listener distribution service before expanding into custom hubs for artists and labels.

It ultimately attracted a roster of highly influential regional imprints. These included Britain’s Warp, Hyperdub, and AD 93, as well as Belgium’s Stroom. European artists such as Sweden’s Yung Lean and Denmark’s ML Buch also used the service.

However, the platform’s underlying economics proved unsustainable. A recent analysis of Nina Protocol’s data revealed that only about $50,000 was spent on the platform throughout its entire operational lifetime. Furthermore, roughly 77% of its nearly 37,000 listings went uncollected. These figures point to fundamental demand and liquidity flaws in using blockchain networks for everyday music distribution.

“Nina has always been about empowering independent artists and documenting the communities that drive music forward,” said Mike Pollard, Nina Protocol’s CEO and co-founder. “As we considered the future of the platform, we wanted to ensure our artists and editorial work found a home that shared and actively practiced those values. SoundCloud was the natural choice.”

By absorbing Nina’s assets, SoundCloud is capturing a niche of forward-thinking independent creators who are abandoning decentralized infrastructure. The move follows SoundCloud's efforts to stabilize its creator relations after facing backlash last year over ambiguous AI training terms. “AI should support artists, not replace them,” chief executive Eliah Seton wrote in an open letter, explicitly promising that artist content would not be used to train generative AI.