SoundCloud is one of the best (and often underused) social media resources for musicians and artists. In addition to being a convenient place to host and display your music, SoundCloud offers independent artists many tools to promote their music online buy real sound cloud plays. With the recent shift to a user-centric payment system , there are even more reasons to up your SoundCloud game and get your music into the ears of your loyal fans and future fans.
If you’re new to SoundCloud, or simply haven’t taken the time to explore how to get the most out of your account, this post will get you started on the yellow brick road to more followers and possibly world domination in your niche.
1. Who are you?
Let’s start with the basics: make sure your profile is up to date and consistent with your other online platforms. If you have an image or color scheme on your website, create a SoundCloud banner that links to it. Make sure all links work and include a photo or profile picture so casual surfers get an idea of who you are as an artist before they’ve heard a note.
2. Don’t be afraid to share
If you’re not sure if your music is ready for release, why not share a work in progress or a demo version? Let your fans see your workflow, warts and all. You can even ask them to give you feedback on specific sections.
3. Metadata is the key
Whenever you upload a song to SoundCloud, make sure you fill out as many metadata fields as you can. Access them by clicking the “Metadata” tab on the song upload or editing page. These may include: name of artist, lyricist, composer and label.
And most importantly, make sure you use tags with your music. This way, listeners browsing SoundCloud will be able to discover your songs more easily.
Tagging is a mysterious art, but with a little experimentation and checking your stats, you’ll eventually discover which tags work for you and your sound.
Don’t spam: be direct, honest and concise with your tags and you’ll make your music easier to discover.
PRO TIP: Be sure to use the theme description section to tag and link to SoundCloud your collaborators, if any. As with any social media platform, use the “@” sign right before the contributors’ SoundCloud name to link to their profile. This label offers listeners another opportunity to see “under the hood” of your music and your process.
4. Buy, buy, little bird
The likes are nice. But the owners do not accept likes when the rent is due.
To help with this (and other purchases), while uploading a song you can choose to add a “Buy” button to your song. You can access this feature through the tab called “Metadata” on the song upload or editing page. Add a link to any online platform where you sell your music: Apple Music, Bandcamp, CD Baby, etc.
The Pro account allows you to fully customize the button text and name it whatever you want. Encourage listeners to stream on Spotify or license your music to use in videos. Or directly ask for donations with a link to Patreon or PayPal. Fans are often willing to support artists whose music inspires them.
PRO TIP: When uploading your song, be sure to uncheck the “Enable direct downloads” box in the “Permissions” tab of the song upload/edit page. So, if a listener wants to download the song, they will use the purchase link.
5. A picture is worth a thousand words
Like your profile, theme artwork represents the music and helps make it stand out.
By default, SoundCloud will show your profile photo without illustrations, which may not always help the listener understand the topic.
SoundCloud’s recommendation is to use a JPEG or PNG that is at least 800 x 800 pixels and no larger than 2 MB.
If someone embeds your theme somewhere, like a blog, the artwork will accompany it, so it’s worth spending the time to make it shine.
PRO TIP: Remember Canva from tip 1? You can also use it to design amazing illustrations for your themes.
6. Comment like a pro
You probably know that SoundCloud allows fans to add timestamped comments to your waveform (you can disable this feature in the “Permissions” tab). But have you thought about adding your own comments?
Use the waveform comments to share the story of your masterpiece and the working process: “I sampled my cat to make that epic sound in the fall.”
Or ask opinions on specific sections: ‘I’m not sure if the battery should stay here or go. LMK what you think.’
The above refers to tip #2: don’t be afraid to share. Let your audience know how you create the music they like.
PRO TIP: You can turn off comments, or make them visible only to you, in the “Permissions” tab when uploading or editing a song.
7. Create a VIP circle
Everyone likes to feel special, and with SoundCloud you can create an exclusive listening club for your die-hard fans using private links.
A private link is a great way to share any unfinished songs with your collaborators, and to submit releases to labels, blogs or publishers, or to create that feeling of exclusivity for tastemakers.
Setting a track to private is easy on SoundCloud: go to “Basic Info” on the song’s upload or edit page, and at the bottom, check the “Private” option.
If you want to share the theme, just press the “Share” button to access the unique URL. This link can be reset whenever you want.
PRO TIP: Make an entire playlist private if you’re pitching your music to publishers or labels.
8. Change things
What if your music is gaining a lot of likes and comments, but you decide to add a little zhuzhing to the mix? Fear not, constant retouchers, SoundCloud has your back!
Just click the pencil icon to edit the track and use the “Replace File” option at the top to change the audio at any time.
You won’t miss any comments or likes, and this handy tool allows you to easily share your production process with your followers.
PRO TIP : If you change the audio, be sure to add a comment to the waveform so your listeners know what you’ve changed and where.
9. Make it shine
It’s all well and good to share the sausage-making process, but some aficionados will also want that sausage to be damn tasty, so sprinkle on some seasoning and master that clue.
You can hire a professional to do it or try the DIY approach with software. But if you’re going to take the Yoda approach of “Do it or don’t do it, there’s no need to try,” why not use a service and get your song up there with the best?
10. If you build it, they will come
Don’t forget to post your songs on all your social media accounts. Consider submitting your music to a YouTube music promotion channel to gain more listeners and followers.
Post topics consistently: Use a spreadsheet to plan a year’s worth of releases, so you don’t have to scratch your head about what to post when Friday rolls around.
Lastly, just like the rest of social media, the secret sauce to gaining traction is to not make everything revolve around you. Engage with your fans when they comment on your songs. Support your community by sharing tracks by other artists and commenting on their work.
PRO TIP : Add links to all your social media accounts on your profile page and set connections to automatically post topics to your chosen accounts.