For labels
SoundCloud Download Gates for Record Labels
Not every artist a label works with is signed to it, and not every release needs to be. Compilation cuts, guest features, one-off collaborations, an artist you work with occasionally without any exclusive deal behind it, these are a normal part of a label's catalogue, not an exception to it. What they need is to be released and credited properly. They don't need a contract.
StillHype's Indie Label tier is built around that category of release specifically: crediting the right people, requiring the right actions from fans, and presenting it as a label release rather than one artist's personal drop. For the general mechanics of how a download gate works, see our SoundCloud download gate guide.
What Indie Label actually changes
Indie Label is priced the same as Pro Artist, USD $12/mo or $99/yr, no extra cost. What it adds:
- Credit multiple artists on a single track. A release with more than one contributing artist can be credited properly on the gate itself, no need to pick whose account the release "belongs to."
- Label name and compilation support on every gate. A release can be presented and tracked as a label release rather than a single artist's drop.
- A follow step per credited artist. When a gate credits more than one artist, StillHype can require a fan to follow each one individually, not just the label's own account. A fan following one contributor doesn't automatically satisfy the gate for everyone credited on it.
Everything else from Pro Artist carries over: unlimited gates, all SoundCloud action types, WAV/AIFF uploads up to 200MB, CSV export, and an artist hub page.
Where this fits in a label's catalogue
A label's roster isn't the whole story of what it releases. A various-artists compilation, a one-off feature between two artists who aren't otherwise affiliated, a collaboration that only exists for a single track, none of these fit neatly into a single-artist gate, and none of them need a formal deal behind every name on the release. Indie Label handles the crediting and the fan-facing follow requirements for exactly that kind of release, properly, without forcing a contract structure onto something that was never going to have one.
That's a separate use case from testing an artist ahead of a possible signing, though the same mechanics support that too. If that's specifically what you're doing, see our guide on testing unsigned artists before signing for how to read the numbers that come out of it.
How to set it up
- Create your label account on the Indie Label tier.
- Set up a gate for the release and credit every contributing artist directly on it. No roster setup is required ahead of time, crediting happens per release.
- Turn on a follow step for each credited artist, so a fan has to follow every artist on the release, not just the label.
- If the release includes more than one track or artist, mark it as a compilation so it's presented as a label release.
- StillHype confirms every credited artist's action with SoundCloud before the download unlocks, the same enforcement used across every tier.
Create your first gate free → or see full pricing for Pro Artist and Indie Label plans.
FAQ
Do I need a contract with every artist credited on a label release?
No. Crediting an artist on a gate doesn't require a contract or exclusivity. It's built for releases, compilations, features, one-off collaborations, that were never going to have a formal deal behind every contributor.
Can a record label credit multiple artists on one release?
Yes. Indie Label supports crediting multiple artists directly on a gate, with an individual follow step for each one, so a compilation or collaborative release doesn't have to be attributed to a single account.
Does the label own the fan data from a release?
Yes. Whichever account creates the gate owns the completions and fan data from it. When a label creates the gate and credits the artists on it, that data belongs to the label account.
How much does the Indie Label tier cost?
The same as Pro Artist, USD $12/mo or $99/yr. It adds multi-artist crediting, per-artist follow steps, and compilation support on top of the full Pro Artist feature set.