Music software company STL Tones is opening its tone marketplace to all musicians, moving beyond its previous invite-only model to let artists, producers, and guitarists upload and earn royalties from their own sounds.
The Nashville-headquartered company has historically partnered with a select group of artists and producers to release official tone packs and signature sounds through its ToneHub and ControlHub plugins. Its ecosystem features contributions from guitarists and producers who have worked with acts including Bring Me the Horizon, blink-182, Slipknot, Paramore, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Beyoncé, and Jack White. STL Tones reports that it has paid more than $2.5 million in artist royalties to date.
The expansion opens the platform to a wider range of creators, from independent bedroom musicians to GRAMMY-winning professionals. Participants can publish guitar and bass tones in ToneHub, and mixing and mastering chains in ControlHub, earning recurring royalties whenever their content is used.
Artists retain ownership of their uploaded content and gain access to a suite of tools:
- Global distribution across the STL Tones ecosystem
- Usage analytics and royalty tracking
- Automated payout processing
The company stated that the move creates an additional recurring revenue stream for musicians and establishes a direct artist-to-fan connection, which can be particularly relevant during album release campaigns.
