For composers · SoundCloud
Reviewing suspected music use on SoundCloud
A detected use is a lead for review. It is not proof that permission is absent, a licence has been breached, or infringement has occurred. The match alone may not show what permissions or agreements apply.
Start with a few neutral checks
- Open the specific SoundCloud track and note its URL, uploader, title and the passage that appears to match. Listen to that passage and compare it with the work you control.
- Work out what seems to be shared: the same recording, a new performance of the composition, or a remix or DJ mix that incorporates other tracks.
- Check who controls the relevant composition and recording rights, including any co-writer, publisher, label or other rights-holder arrangements.
- Look for permission covering this work and this kind of use on SoundCloud. Note its scope and any conditions, and keep confirmed facts separate from questions the available information does not answer.
What SoundCloud’s guidance says
Remixes. For a remix upload, SoundCloud says permission is needed from the original creator and any relevant rights-holders; the creator may not retain every right. SoundCloud Help Center: remix guidance.
Cover versions. SoundCloud says permissions or appropriate licences are needed to publish a copyrighted cover. Depending on whether the original recording is used, both composition and sound-recording rights may be relevant. SoundCloud Help Center: cover-version guidance.
DJ mixes. SoundCloud says permission is needed for all included tracks to upload or publish a DJ mix; the relevant rights-holders retain copyright in their tracks. SoundCloud Help Center: DJ-mix guidance.
Creative Commons and derivative mixes. SoundCloud says a Creative Commons licence does not apply to a mix or mashup using other people’s tracks and does not replace permission from the original rights-holders. A licence for a derivative mix therefore does not, by itself, clear rights in the incorporated original work. SoundCloud Help Center: Creative Commons permissions.