SoundCloud introducing adverts in the US

The six-year-old service has introduced a new iOS app and redesigned its website in recent months - a subscription service is coming as well

SoundCloud, an audio-sharing platform more often associated with underground remixes than major label releases, is introducing adverts for the first time.

The six-year old website (and now app) is introducing three new creator programs for users to sign up to – Partner, Pro and Premier – with the last option allowing artists to collect revenue from ads on their tracks.

Soundcloud says that the Premier option is currently only available by invitation in the US, but is planning to expand into new markets as a preliminary step to introducing a paid subscription service in the "coming months".

All of this is part of the site's slow move towards both respectability and profits, as it starts to do battle with more commercially-focused music services such as Spotify and iTunes.

The company has currently raised more than $100 million in venture funding and has a massive audience: more than 175 million people tune in to SoundCloud every month, reports the New York Times, a figure that is more than four times Spotify’s global listenership.

The service has been compared to YouTube for its ‘democratic’ structure that allows anyone to sign-up and start uploading audio, and it’s nurtured its fair share of viral hits – including Royals, the song that shot New Zealand artist Lorde to fame and that has now attracted more than 27 million plays.