Songtradr Is Bringin’ the Tip Jar Back

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Now there’s another way to beat the system: tips on Songtradr.

We’ve been pretty pumped to start collaborating with Songtradr, a company that’s starting to upend a stodgy synchronization business.  Slowly (or quickly), a clique of dealmakers is giving way to a broader licensing marketplace.

But Songtradr is also opening another way for artists to make more money: tips.

Yes, direct tips from fans.  Already, we know several artists that make most of their live performance income from tips.   Just by bedazzling the audience and getting them involved (and here’s an entire piece on how to make that happen).  And Patreon has build an entire economy off fan contributions.

+ How I Make $50 an Hour (or More) on Tips…

The tips concept has gone through a few phases.  Now, some pretty serious tipping and contribution platforms have evolved.  You could even think of crowdfunding as another giant tip platform.  But Songtradr is mostly adding this as icing on the cake, and simply creating another way to generate revenue.

Basically, Songtradr is layering its tips function into a dedicated page for artists.

That complements Songtradr’s broader focus of matching artists and advertisers, specifically with an automated marketplace for licensing music.  Actually, the platform goes far beyond advertisers, and also involves film producers or anyone looking to properly license music for their production.

Now, artists can use their dedicated pages to showcase a body of work — to producers, advertisers, and fans.  Think of it like a SoundCloud profile page, but for artists that are more serious about monetizing their music.

The first iteration is relatively rules-free.  No minimum or maximum contribution, and no schedule or deliverables like Patreon.  Just a simple way to give directly to an artist.  “With Songtradr’s new features, artists can have their own profile and streaming interface to share with their fans, who in return, can reward them directly,” said Paul Wiltshire, Songtradr’s CEO.

All of which is pretty cool for artists bummed out about low-rent streaming platforms and closed-door licensing clubs.  But companies like Songtradr are chipping away at problems like those — and they’re not alone.