# Sunsetting Sound

*Sound is shutting down on January 16*

By [sound.xyz](https://paragraph.com/@soundxyz) · 2025-12-17

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Hi everyone,

This is the hardest post I’ve written as a founder. After 3.5 years, Sound will be shutting down in 30 days on 1/16.

Sound wasn’t just a product. It was the spark for everything we’re building now. It changed our lives and united a community we’ll never forget.

This decision comes from respect for the artists and collectors who trusted us. Maintaining legacy infrastructure splits our focus, and to make Vault change the industry, we need to be all-in. We cannot build the future while anchoring ourselves to the past.

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**What you need to do**

Starting today, we're opening a 30-day window for withdrawals through Sound. The site will stay online during this entire period.

If you’re an artist, please take a minute to check your earnings balance and withdraw anything remaining during the 30-day window.

Nothing you collected is going away. Your proof of support lives onchain, and the music and metadata are stored in decentralized storage. Even after Sound goes offline, your collection will still show up anywhere you connect your wallet, for example OpenSea.

On January 16th, 2026, [Sound.xyz](http://Sound.xyz) will go offline. The site will redirect to a thank you page with a link to Splits so artists can continue claiming any remaining funds from the contract.

We put together a short help page with [step-by-step instructions here](https://help.sound.xyz/hc/en-us/articles/15756211760155-How-do-I-withdraw-earnings-from-Sound-xyz).

If anything is unclear, reach out to me ([@dgreenstein1](http://x.com/dgreenstein1)) or anyone on the team. We'll support you the whole way.

* * *

**Thank you**

We have endless gratitude to everyone who created, collected, listened, challenged us, and kept this platform alive. You shaped us. You made this journey unforgettable.

If you believed in Sound, we hope you'll follow what's next at [vault.fm](http://vault.fm). We're building with the same heart and the same conviction for artist independence.

If you're an artist who released on Sound, we'd love to give you early access to the Vault beta: [https://vaultfm.typeform.com/to/AZVzne9F](https://vaultfm.typeform.com/to/AZVzne9F)

With gratitude,

David and the Sound team

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*Originally published on [sound.xyz](https://paragraph.com/@soundxyz/sunsetting-sound)*