SoundCloud Go introduces new cheaper $5/month plan w/ limited catalog

After first introducing its $10/month ‘SoundCloud Go’ subscription service last March, the company is today introducing a mid-tier offering at a cheaper $5-6 price point with a limited catalog.

The new less expensive plan will get you access to 120M tracks ad-free and offline; that compares to the full catalog of 150M+ tracks that subscribers paying $10/month have access to. The original $10 plan will remain but will be rebranded “Go+”.

Subscribers to the premium Go+ service will also benefit from no previews, meaning if you’re on the cheaper plan you’ll only get a limited preview of many popular tracks before being prompted to upgrade to the more expensive plan. SoundCloud doesn’t exactly tell you which songs are locked into previews and which songs are left out of the less expensive catalog, but there is a 30-day trial that will let you try it out before paying.

“SoundCloud’s unique mix of content, much of which can’t be found anywhere else, is an incredibly attractive offering for music lovers who are at the forefront of what’s happening now and driving what’s next in music,” said Alison Moore, Chief Revenue Officer at SoundCloud. “SoundCloud Go answers the call from our users who want the ability to take the huge catalog of content found in SoundCloud’s free, ad-supported offering with them anytime, anywhere, without interruptions, at a very affordable price. And at the same time, we’re now giving users who haven’t made the jump into a music subscription plan, a robust, fully on-demand option at an accessible price.”

The new SoundCloud Go+ plan is available now in the US, UK, Ireland, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Germany for $4.99 for Android and web subscribers, and $5.99 for iOS. SoundCloud is charging more for iOS users because it doesn’t want to pay Apple’s 30% fee, a move Spotify and others have made. The company suggests “iOS users can avoid the App Store surcharge by visiting soundcloud.com/go instead.”