The tool only allows you to distribute original music, and verification checks will be in place. Classical works, podcasts, audiobooks and white noise aren't eligible. If you try to distribute remixes, mashups, DJ sets or music you don't have the rights to, those will be removed from SoundCloud and you'll no longer have access to the Premier monetization program.

SoundCloud will notify creators who are eligible for the beta starting today. In addition to a Pro or Pro Unlimited subscription, you'll need to own or control all the rights to your music, have no copyright strikes when you sign up, be 18 (or the age of majority wherever you are) and have at least 1,000 plays over the last month in countries where SoundCloud ads and listener subscriptions are active.

If you meet all the criteria, you'll see a Distribute button in your track manager, and once you've added all the necessary metadata, you can select the services you'd like your music to appear on. You can ask the platforms to make your music available as soon as possible or schedule a release date at least two weeks in advance -- it may take a while for each streaming service to validate your work.

Cross-platform distribution seems to be a growing area of focus for streaming music companies. Soon after it allowed indie artists uploading their music directly to its platform, Spotify announced plans to let musicians share their tunes to rival services.