SoundCloud announced on Wednesday that it acquired Nina Protocol, a decentralized music platform that allowed independent artists to sell music directly to their fans while keeping 100% of their revenue.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. It’s also unclear if any members of Nina’s team will join SoundCloud. The company has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The deal is SoundCloud’s first acquisition since its 2022 purchase of AI music company Musiio to help improve music discovery. The deal signals that SoundCloud continues to expand beyond music hosting into a broader platform for independent artists.

As part of the acquisition, SoundCloud will take possession of Nina’s editorial archive and “genre map.” The company writes in a blog post that this allows it to preserve Nina’s “rich collection of music journalism, artist articles and cultural commentary” and “help showcase emerging artists, scenes and music to even more listeners.”

“[Nina Protocol] “We’ve built an incredible platform by putting independent artists, scenes, and communities first, and our priority is honoring what they’ve created, while carrying forward that mission,” SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton said in a statement. “Together, we will help more independent artists build deeper relationships with fans, unlock new ways to make money, and access the tools they need to build sustainable careers on their own terms.”

The acquisition comes just months after Nina announced it would close its platform on May 28, citing its failure to establish a sustainable business model.

Founded in 2021 by independent musicians Jack Callahan, Mike Pollard, and Eric Farber, Nina Protocol offered artists a way to operate their own digital stores without relying on traditional streaming platforms. The service was built on the Solana blockchain for fast, low-cost transactions and used Arweave for permanent decentralized storage of music files and metadata.

For Nina Protocol artists, SoundCloud offers a migration tool to transfer your work to their platform. Additionally, artists will receive a free subscription to SoundCloud Artist through the end of the year, which includes monetization features and audience growth tools.