Estate planning as a SoundCloud account holder

SoundCloud is a music streaming and creator platform where anyone can upload audio. An artist account can hold uploaded tracks, playlists, followers, and, for Artist and Artist Pro subscribers, monetization earnings paid by SoundCloud Monetization (fan-powered royalties on SoundCloud plus distribution royalties from outside services). SoundCloud holds those earnings until they are paid out: balances under $25 USD roll over to the next month, and earnings are reported on roughly a two-month delay. A listener account may carry a SoundCloud Go or Go+ subscription. The Terms of Use state that content "is uploaded, owned and controlled solely by you," and that content in a terminated account is irretrievably deleted. SoundCloud has a deceased-member process: verified immediate family members or those authorized to act for the estate email legal@soundcloud.com, and after verification questions SoundCloud can lock or delete the account, or transfer ownership.

After a SoundCloud account holder dies, SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG may transfer accounts to a designated recipient, but this is handled case by case. The outcome depends on the documentation provided and is entirely at SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG's discretion.

What happens at death

SoundCloud's Account Ownership Policies state: "Only verified, immediate family members or those authorized to act on behalf of the deceased's estate can gain access to the account of that SoundCloud community member. After a number of verification questions, we can - lock or delete the account, or transfer ownership, depending on your wishes." The deceased-member article adds: "Due to legal restrictions, we can only pass access over to immediate family members, or those authorized to act on behalf of the estate," and directs requests to legal@soundcloud.com. The Terms of Use (Last Amended August 17, 2026) contain no death or estate provision. They prohibit transferring an account without consent ("You must not sell or transfer, or offer to sell or transfer, any SoundCloud account to any third party without the prior written approval of SoundCloud") and state that once an account is terminated, "any and all Content residing in your account ... will be irretrievably deleted by SoundCloud," subject to legally required or permitted retention. The account-ownership article also states that the only means SoundCloud has of verifying ownership is the email address used to create the account. Earnings are governed separately by the SoundCloud Monetization Terms of Service (Last Updated October 31, 2025), which prohibit assigning those terms "whether by operation of law or otherwise" without SoundCloud Monetization's prior written consent and provide for a final statement of amounts due after the monetization term ends.