At SoundCloud, the company’s mission to empower artists to take control of their careers, through discovery, audience connection, monetization, and creative autonomy, was on full display during this year’s Web Summit in Lisbon. On November 12, the platform hosted a special live edition of Sound Advice, its signature conversation series highlighting the artists shaping what comes next. That event is now being released to the public, accompanied by news of a significant new partnership that expands on the ideas explored on stage by Grammy Award–winning artist and Auracles founder Imogen Heap and SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton.
Recorded before a packed crowd, the Sound Advice Live episode brought Seton and Heap together for a wide-ranging discussion on ethical AI, artist data rights, and the future of music in a rapidly shifting digital landscape. Heap, who has spent more than three decades pushing creative and technological boundaries, reflected on her early experiments with SoundCloud, including fan-submitted audio for The Song That Never Was, as well as innovations such as her MiMU Gloves, the AI-driven assistant AI.Mogen, and her latest initiative, Auracles. Designed as a sovereign digital ID and creative data platform, Auracles gives artists the tools to protect, manage, and control their work with greater transparency; something Heap has long advocated for as essential to a healthier music ecosystem.
In tandem with the release of the episode, SoundCloud announced a new collaboration with Auracles that strengthens its commitment to helping artists safeguard their digital identities. Through this partnership, Auracles joins the SoundCloud Benefits Partner Program, allowing creators to directly connect their SoundCloud profiles to Auracles. Artists can now import music projects into Auracles for management and organization, and publish those projects back to SoundCloud whenever they choose. In an era where artists confront an increasingly opaque digital environment, the integration provides clearer ownership pathways, enhanced protection, and greater creative autonomy.
Heap described the partnership as transformative, calling it a “game-changing collaboration” and emphasizing its alignment with Auracles’ vision of long-term artist sustainability. She noted that this integration represents a vital step toward building a future marketplace designed around the needs of artists, one in which digital identity, creative rights, and fair compensation form the foundation. Heap expressed enthusiasm for the road ahead, underscoring that this collaboration marks only the beginning of her work with SoundCloud.
The partnership reflects a shared belief between SoundCloud and Auracles that the next era of the music industry must prioritize transparency, interoperability, and fan-driven revenue. Traditional streaming models alone cannot meet the needs of artists seeking stable careers or fans desiring deeper engagement. By aligning SoundCloud’s artist-first tools with Auracles’ data-centric infrastructure, both organizations aim to move the industry toward a structure where artists are credited accurately, protected at every step, and compensated fairly for their creativity.
This initiative is positioned as an early but significant marker in a much larger vision. Both SoundCloud and Imogen Heap plan to continue expanding their collaboration, signaling more developments to come as the music industry evolves around new technology, new creator demands, and a renewed push for fairness in the digital space.