More about: Leon Bridges

Sony has removed some of its biggest artists from Soundcloud after terms could not be agreed - prompting another crackdown on free services.

Artists effected include Adele, Hozier, Miguel, Kelly Clarkson, Passion Pit and Leon Bridges who have all had tracks removed from Soundcloud. 

A source told Billboard that a "lack of monetization opportunities" was the reason for the label pulling out of the service.

It continues a recent trend for major labels to feel frustrated by free online services profitting of their content. “[It’s] been a good place for exposure,” an artist manager told Billboard. “At the same time, artists and labels need to get paid for music. Until that can be worked out, we’re going to have situations that are incompatible with artist development.”

Soundcloud responded in a statement “We are in ongoing conversations with major and independent labels and will continue to add partners to the program." They revealed the company has paid out more than $2 million in advertising revenue on their 'On Soundcloud' service which both supports ads and offers a revenue sharing scheme. “We’ve always put control in the hands of creators, and anyone who makes music and audio can decide when and how they want to share it with fans, allowing artists to essentially broadcast out to the world the availability of new content.”

As Rolling Stone points out it's particularly telling that Leon Bridges is one of the artists caught up in this dispute, given he first came to the attention of Sony via Soundcloud versions of his songs 'Coming Home' and 'Better Man' in October 2014.

Bridges recently announced his debut UK Tour in July, around his Latitude and Citadel Festival appearances. The short, four date tour, takes in Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol before culminating in a massive show at the Shepherd's Bush Emipire at the end of the month. Bridges has already announced a show at the Village Underground in Shoreditch, London. 

Check out Leon Bridges' hit single 'Coming Home' below: 

Leon Bridges' tour dates can be found below. Tickets available here.

Wednesday 20 May - London, Village Underground
Tuesday 7 July - Birmingham, Institute
Thursday 9 July - Manchester, Deaf Institute
Wednesday 15 July - Bristol, Thekla
Wednesday 29 July - London, Shepherd's Bush Empire

Read Gigwise's interview with Leon Bridges here, including his thoughts on Young Thug, Christian hip-hop and vintage denim. 

Issue Two of the Gigwise Print magazine is on sale now! Buy it here.

More about: Leon Bridges