SoundCloud announced Wednesday that it has acquired Nina Protocol, a decentralized music platform that let independent artists sell music directly to fans while pocketing 100% of their revenue. Financial terms were not disclosed, and it's unclear if any of Nina's team will join SoundCloud. The company has not yet responded to a request for comment, which is either standard practice or a sign they're too busy counting their new genre maps.

This is SoundCloud's first acquisition since its 2022 purchase of AI music company Musiio, suggesting the platform is serious about expanding beyond mere music hosting into a broader ecosystem for independent artists. As part of the deal, SoundCloud gets Nina's editorial archive and "genre map," which the company says will help preserve "music journalism, artist features, and cultural commentary" and "surface emerging artists, scenes, and music to even more listeners."

SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton waxed poetic: "Nina Protocol built an incredible platform by putting independent artists, scenes, and communities first, and our priority is to honor what they’ve created, while carrying that mission forward." He added that together they'll help artists build deeper fan relationships, unlock new earnings, and access tools for sustainable careers - presumably on SoundCloud's terms.

The acquisition comes just months after Nina announced it would shut down on May 28, citing an inability to establish a sustainable business model. Founded in 2021 by independent musicians Jack Callahan, Mike Pollard, and Eric Farber, Nina Protocol offered artists digital storefronts built on the Solana blockchain for fast, low-cost transactions and used Arweave for permanent decentralized storage. For Nina artists, SoundCloud is offering a migration tool and a complimentary Artist subscription through year's end, including monetization features and audience growth tools - because nothing says "honoring your mission" like a free trial.