Spotify is doubling down on its tools for music artists — but it’s not saying how much it cost

• Spotify acquired an audio production firm, SoundBetter.
• SoundBetter is a marketplace for artists and their music.
• The acquisition of SoundBetter will give Spotify’s artists a new way to earn royalties and also diversify Spotify’s revenue streams.

Spotify is doubling on creating original music by acquiring the audio production firm, SoundBetter.

SoundBetter claims to have The Killers’ mixing engineer, Hoobastank’s dummer, Beyonce’s song writer and even Kanye West’s producer available on their platform.

It’s essentially a platform where singers, songwriters, producers and music engineers are available for hire.

Even though it does take a commission for the transactions on in its marketplace, it’s paying out around $1 million on a monthly basis to the artists onboard.

One part of the business is an online marketplace for artists to offer their services and second is helping finished music find a spotlight. Their Tracks services, lets users put their music out there to get licensed. Soundbetter's services will be integrated with Spotify for Artists.

Spotify tried to attempt something similar with DistroKid but it never made it past the beta phase and was finally shut down in July this year.

What's in it for Spotify?

SoundBetter is a successful company in its own right, with 180,000 registered users.

Spotify has been clear about its aim to give original artists space on its platform and the acquisition of SoundBetter means artists will have more tools and experts are their disposal to create content.

“As we build out our tools for creators, we want to give them the resources they need to thrive. SoundBetter has the same vision,” said Beckwith Kloss, Vice President of Product and Creator at Spotify, said in a statement.

But the company hasn’t disclosed any other details about the transaction, which could mean that it cost them a significant amount of money, according to TechCrunch.

Less money, mo problems

Musicians operating on Spotify have often complained that they cannot earn enough royalties from the platform. Having additional services available could open up other avenues of earning money without having to leave the Spotify platform.

Spotify, itself, has been operating at a loss. Diversifying its revenue streams could allow the music streaming giant to alleviate some pressure.