soundcloud

What is Soundcloud, how does it work and how to use it

Spotify may be the big dog when it comes to music streaming, but there’s a lot to like about SoundCloud!

SoundCloud is a free website and app that lets users share, collect and discover music and podcasts. It is the ideal platform to share your own musical creations and mixes with the world. All the music you upload to SoundCloud is streamable. The artist can even make the songs or playlists downloadable or redirect interested parties to a website where they can purchase the songs/albums.

The app is a great platform for discovering new artists or sharing their music with a new audience, thus growing their following. SoundCloud has a desktop version for Mac as well as mobile apps for iPhone and Android. In this SoundCloud guide, we will cover what SoundCloud is, how it works and how to start using it.

What Is SoundCloud?

SoundCloud is known as an online audio distribution platform, which simply means it is a platform where users can share music. SoundCloud was founded in 2007 and remains one of the premier artist-first platforms that is driven by a community of artists and listeners.

While SoundCloud is free to use for artists and listeners alike, a subscription version is available. If you want more freedom, you can consider SoundCloud Go. What is SoundCloud Go? SoundCloud Go is the first tier in the SoundCloud subscription and costs $4.99/month. The subscription version doesn’t contain any ads and offers offline listening options as well.

If you are an artist, SoundCloud is a great platform to get your music out into the world and start building a global following. If you are a music enthusiast that loves staying on top of the hottest music trends, SoundCloud is a great space to find new talent.

How Does SoundCloud Work?

To start using SoundCloud, you’ll have to create an account first. This can be done through the Mac desktop client directly or via the app. Once you’ve created your account, you can start listening to music or uploading your own. Anyone can start using SoundCloud to listen to music or start uploading music for free.

If you are an artist, there are also subscriptions available specifically for music creators. These subscriptions include more insights and stats, support and other opportunities. This is perfect once you’ve established your profile and are starting to grow a following.

It is important to note that you can only upload music you have rights to on the platform. This means you cannot just upload your favorite artists’ songs. The creators who hold the rights to those have to upload them.

What Is the SoundCloud App?

The SoundCloud app is a convenient way to take all your music, playlist and likes with you wherever you go. The SoundCloud app is available on both Android and iOS devices. Once you have the app installed on your phone and logged in with your account, you can take your music with you wherever you go.

How to Use SoundCloud?

To start using SoundCloud, the first thing you’ll need to do is create your account. You can do this easily through the SoundCloud website, the app or the Mac desktop client. Once logged in, you can customize your profile by clicking on your display name at the top right of the screen and then selecting ‘Profile’. Once all the basics are in place, you can use the below SoundCloud tips to get started.

Discover new music on SoundCloud

Everything is taggable, and it’s easy to bump into music similar to or related to the music you like.

Here are some of the new features included in the SoundCloud app this year:

Personalized recommendations
“The Feed” is a feature that curates an artists’ likes, follows and reposts on the platform. The idea is, it helps foster a connection between artists and listeners, giving artists a chance to share recommendations.
New playlists: The Morning Mourning, Drippin (new rap), and Speed Bumps (new electro), and more.
Communities: Genre-based pages designed to help you find new music, in a way that feels different than the Netflix or Spotify approach.

Many of the newer features aim to give users a sense of community, which certainly isn’t unique to the SoundCloud website.

Find your community

SoundCloud is aiming to position itself as a digital community. As such, they’ve introduced community profile pages, which work just like any of the other pages on the SoundCloud website. However, it aims to bring together “authentic” communities (their words).

What these community pages look like out in the wild represents something a bit different than what you’ll get from your average profile page on social media.

Instead, you can follow any of the following communities:

Here’s what AURAS looks like:

As you can see, you’ll get a round-up of different playlists based on your favorite types of music.

While initially, we were a bit confused about how this feature differs from say, following Spotify playlists, it turns out that Communities are a cool way to discover new music. It is not some shoddy attempt at turning SoundCloud into, say, Facebook for music.

The community building part comes in here. Fans and creators can connect with other people who share similar tastes. Join Scenes if you’re looking for some low-key relaxation vibes.

Follow Hustle for the latest in hip hop. AURAS is all about R&B, while Circuits represents the electronic underground.

How to download from SoundCloud

Not every track on SoundCloud is downloadable. To figure out if a track is downloadable, first, find a track on SoundCloud that you’d like to download. Click the More button, and look for the Download file option. If you don’t see one, that means that the creator of the track did not want the track to be downloaded.

If it is there, you are in luck, and you can commence with your download! Just make sure you have a decent app for listening to the track.

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How to upload to SoundCloud

Uploading tracks to SoundCloud is a pretty quick and painless process. First off, in order to upload anything to SoundCloud, you need to sign in. Once you’re signed in, go to the Upload page. From there, you’ll see a page that looks like the one below:

You can either drag and drop tracks and albums onto the page, or you can use their file uploader. Check the box on whether you want to share your tracks publicly or privately.

Please note that if you don’t have a Pro account, you have three hours worth of content that you can upload. If you only have a few singles you want to share, that should be enough for you. However, if you also have several diss tracks, love ballads, a swan song, and a comeback album, you may want to consider upgrading to pro.

Once you choose the tracks you want to upload, click the button to begin uploading. Once you’re done, you can fill out the track names, the genre, and add whatever tags you’d like. After that, you’re all done! Make sure you give yourself a cool artist name and tweet out to all your friends so you can share your tracks with them!

Promoting your music on SoundCloud

Not just a listener? SoundCloud is one of the few accessible forms of DIY distribution and marketing for independent artists.

While podcasters have tools like Stitcher, Anchor, Apple, and Google, there are few places for aspiring artists to connect with their fans.

Spotify and Stem recently discontinued their music distribution offerings. Stem announced it would be dropping tens of thousands of artists, while Spotify called it quits on their self-upload beta program.

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It may be in your best interest to create a page or a site to help promote your work. WordPress has great tools for making a free website, or a cheap website if you want access to more customization.

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However, one of the best tools for promoting your work is Tumblr. Although posting on all your social networks can help, Tumblr is a cut above the rest.

If you make a Tumblr post, you can copy your track or playlist’s URL and paste it into the Audio section of a post. Tumblr allows users to use tags to help discover new tracks. If you include the genre, your name, and the themes of your music, Tumblr users can start finding you. For example, if you write a break-up song, include “break-up” in your tags so all of the lonely hearts out there can find it!

SoundCloud recently announced that it is adding distribution to its self-monetization Premier program.

Eligible creators now have access to an open beta where they can upload songs, monetize, and publish to external streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

What’s more, SoundCloud says those who use its distribution service will keep ALL royalties obtained from third-party services.

How to Embed

This is just a quick little note for promoting, but if you want to embed a track, click the Share button next to the track and then on the Embed tab. From there, you will get an embed code that you can copy and paste to your heart’s desire.

SoundCloud vs. Spotify

From a user standpoint, SoundCloud and Spotify bring very different experiences to the table. While it’s almost not really a matter of SoundCloud vs. Spotify, here’s a quick look at some of the pros and cons associated with each platform. You’ll see that there’s plenty of reason why you should get a SoundCloud account.

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Spotify

Pros

Spotify is more polished. The user interface is super easy to use. You can search for artists, follow playlists, and browse through recommendations without any onboarding tutorials.
Spotify allows for offline use. You can download as many songs and podcasts as your phone storage allows. No need to worry about usage caps or dead spots.
Spotify has established artists are on the platform. From indie bands to pop stars, most artists that you can name can be found here. It’s the leading streaming platform, so you’ll generally find what you’re looking for.

Cons

The free version is super limited. Unless you love hearing ads after every other song, regular listeners should invest the $10/month for an upgrade.
It’s not great for finding underground artists and hidden gems. Spotify hosts a ton of music, but mainly from established artists. If you’re all about the “obscure” Spotify won’t cover all of your bases.
It’s missing some big names, too. From time to time, an artist might feud with Spotify and pull their music. There’s no guarantee every song you want will be on the platform.

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Pros

It’s great for finding independent artists. SoundCloud hosts known artists alongside those still grinding it out from home. The platform provides a great way to find hidden gems from total unknowns. “Old Town Road” and “The Git Up” are recent songs that exploded from SoundCloud.
Discovery feels less “algorithm-driven.” While personalized recommendations are a core feature, it’s easier to break out of the recommendation loops you’ll find on Spotify.
Stream provides a unique way to get updates. Users can follow artists and playlists they like to receive updates and keep track of their favorite tunes. They can also share tracks with the community, almost like retweeting on Twitter.
SoundCloud has private sharing. You can use the share button to privately embed and share artists and tracks.

Cons

It does not have the best sound quality. Spotify has SoundCloud beat when it comes to audio. We’re talking 320 kbps vs. 128 kbps. You’ll notice the difference.
The user-experience can be confusing. While the design is attractive in a lot of ways, SoundCloud is somewhat hard to figure out.
There is no offline support. You’ll need to signup for SoundCloud Go to download songs to your device.

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Wrapping up

There’s a lot to take in when it comes to breaking down the SoundCloud experience. For creators and listeners alike, the platform remains a solid choice for anyone who wants to discover new content and break away from the algorithmic rut that sometimes happens when you depend on Spotify or Pandora for recommendations.

Ultimately, the SoundCloud app has some limitations. Again, the usability and sound quality could be better, but it’s also one of the few places online where not everything is super polished, commercial, and on everyone’s radar.

How the internet changed hip-hop forever

Hip-hop and the internet have been a match made in music heaven.

Last year, on July 17, Forbes reported that for the first time ever hip-hop overtook rock as the most listened-to genre of music in the U.S. These days the top of the Billboard Top 200 is filled with rappers, who often have origins far more humble than ultra-mainstream acts like Ariana Grande or Maroon 5. Today’s chart has five rap songs taking spots in the Top 10. This represents not only a cultural shift for hip-hop, but for popular music in general. Why is hip-hop more popular today than ever before? The answer is the internet and the clever rappers who first figured out how to use it as a platform to spread their music and shift the direction of rap culture.

How the internet changed hip-hop forever

Soulja Boy and Limewire: A Symbiotic Relationship

Way back in 2007, there were no streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, so most music was consumed through CD or online marketplaces like iTunes. The pre-streaming days were much, much more rampant with music piracy, as many kids got all of their music through file-sharing services and torrent software. By far the most infamous of these services was Limewire, a torrent client that was widely used to spread music, movies, and pornography, all with a high chance of containing a virus that would nuke the family computer. Despite being extremely illegal and infested with viruses, Limewire proved to be one of the most popular ways to get new music.

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While Limewire was in its prime, a 17-year-old rapper known as Soulja Boy had gained a small following through websites like SoundClick. Noticing the huge amount of music downloads going through Limewire, Soulja Boy cleverly gamed the system by uploading his music under the names of megapopular songs like Rihanna’s “Umbrella” or My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade.”

As a result, thousands of teenagers were tricked into downloading Soulja Boy’s track “Crank Dat,” with their anger quickly dissipating as they realized how catchy the song was. The track quickly exploded in popularity, in no small part due to the “Crank Dat” dance, which also went viral. In the fall of 2007, “Crank Dat” reached the number 1 spot on the Billboard Top 200, shocking the industry.

“Crank Dat” was written and produced entirely by Soulja Boy, who, again, was only 17 years old at the time. With no record label backing him, a song that Soulja Boy created in entry-level production software Frooty Loops on his laptop became one of the biggest independent hits in the history of popular music. Soulja Boy was among the first and most successful artists to utilize the internet and social media to spread his music. “Crank Dat” went viral before viral was even really a thing. Soulja Boy’s internet savvy and label-free independence would provide the blueprint for aspiring young rappers moving forward in the digital age.

Inspired by Soulja Boy, thousands of aspiring rap artists would attempt to follow the Crank Dat formula to score a viral hit. Soulja Boy broke new ground for rap music by showing an entirely new way to independently market and release music.

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The BasedGod and the Deconstruction of Rap

As time went on, newer rappers would use the freeform nature of the internet to create more experimental new forms of rap music. Earlier in the decade, new artists like Kanye West and Gnarls Barkley had broken new ground with sounds and personalities that contrasted sharply with the gangsta rap image popular at the time. Both of those artists had achieved success largely without the internet, but moving forward new rappers would emerge who deviated even further from hard-edged West Coast rap.

The artist who used the internet best moving forward was inarguably Lil B, also known as the BasedGod. It’s hard to cleanly summarize exactly who Lil B is and what he represents. He first turned heads for his eccentric, stream-of-consciousness lyrics, rapped with sincerity and confidence over droning, hazy samples. Lil B’s music is far from nonsensical, however, and as abstract or strange as his lyrics may be, he is unabashedly himself in both his music and his persona. Lil B’s absurd lyrics, offbeat rapping, and effeminate identity earn him plenty of critics, but he has used the buzz surrounding him to start a conversation on what it means to be a rapper in the internet age.

Since hip-hop’s inception, the most important aspect of a rapper’s image has been their realness. Rappers who appear inauthentic, whether that be their background, lifestyle, or lyrics, are harshly criticized and are seldom accepted by the hip-hop community. Lil B is absolutely, positively himself through his music and online persona. If you follow Lil B closely you are entering his world, getting as close to him as you would if you were a close personal friend.

While Lil B adheres closely to hip-hop’s principle of authenticity, he contrasts strongly with the traditional idea of what it is to be a rapper. His nickname of BasedGod comes from the term based, a word originally meant as an insult meaning stupid or stoned, which Lil B has reclaimed to represent a mindset of positivity, openness, and universal love. Through his music and his cultural following, Lil B expresses a desire by the digital generation to defy hypermasculinity and notions of traditional gender roles. Hip-hop culture was created as a response to systematic racism and as a means of expression and empowerment, an idea which Lil B applied to a whole new set of principles through his internet presence.

If you’re a modern rap fan, there’s a good chance that Lil B is your favorite rapper’s favorite rapper. His eclectic lyricism and shameless self-confidence provided the blueprint for the coming Soundcloud generation.

Soundcloud Rap is the new Punk

After Soulja Boy showed the world the indie marketing power of the internet and Lil B redefined what it meant to be a rapper, the stage was set for the Soundcloud generation. For those who have somehow avoided Soundcloud rap, the genre basically is a new form of rap that combines nihilistic, hedonistic, and simplistic lyrics with aggressive lo-fi production. Popularized by artists like XXXtentacion, Ski Mask the Slump God, and Lil Pump, this new generation spread their new wave of rap through free music streaming websites like Soundcloud.

The popularity and spread of Soundcloud rap heavily mirrors the emergence of punk rock in the 1970s. Created as a response to pretentious and technical prog rock, punk music was known for its repetitive, abrasive, and simplistic song structure. As the genre evolved, the subculture embraced DIY ethics and anti-establishment ideals, rejecting the backing of major record labels for house shows and moshpits. Many rock fans were furious and considered punk to be useless noise and aggression.

Punk and hip-hop both share an ethos of not caring what people think. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that Soundcloud rap emerged within hip-hop as its own punk analog. The lyricism, production, and imagery of Soundcloud rap challenge those heralded by traditional hip-hop, pissing off many traditional rap purists (see the parallels yet?).

Soundcloud rap brings with it an aesthetic that is as raw, aggressive, and offensive as the punk of old. Characterized by colorfully dyed hair, face tattoos, and eclectic fashion, Soundcloud rappers challenge traditional notions of both taste and hip-hop culture. References to anime, video games, and cartoons are plastered throughout lyrics and album covers, which would have been seen as a corny aesthetic death sentence for a rapper years ago. Lyrics mostly fall into two camps: violent, unabashed, hedonism and Xanax-fueled, introspective depression. Rejecting the cleanly produced soul and jazz samples of traditional hip-hop, Soundcloud rappers find sample inspiration in ethereal electronic music and the abrasive instrumentation of metal/screamo bands like Slayer and Slipknot.

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Soundcloud rappers, like their punk forefathers, embrace controversy to increase their notoriety. In the age of viral marketing, doing something ridiculous will get you clout, providing the perfect promotion for your new mixtape. Of all the Soundcloud rappers who do this, no one does it better than 6ix9ine. 6ix9ine is constantly making headlines or trending on Twitter for his ongoing legal troubles, feuds with other rappers, or bizarre antics. As the Soundcloud rappers further agitate oldheads and the mainstream, they ironically gain more mainstream visibility and popularity.

Unsurprisingly, the contradictory marriage between primal hedonism and suicidal thoughts present in Soundcloud rap baffles record executives. Soundcloud rappers use streaming platforms like YouTube and Spotify to bring the DIY punk ethos to the digital age, uploading their songs for free. Despite their humble, lo-fi origins, the streaming numbers of these rappers rival or surpass those of label-groomed and pushed Top 40 artists like Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. A prime example is the music video for Lil Pump’s Gucci Gang, which has over 800 million views on YouTube.

Because hip-hop is a much newer genre than rock, and because it has less pull and acclaim in the musical world in general, its punk phase could have only happened in the age of the internet.

Over the last decade and a half, hip-hop and the internet have changed each other. Soulja Boy’s use of the early internet to create viral music set the stage for artists even beyond rap to follow. Lil B personified the internet with his shameless sincerity and self-confidence, representing the internet as an opportunity for people to express themselves freely through the information superhighway. Lastly, the low barrier to entry and wide popularity of internet streaming sites allowed hip-hop’s punk phase to grow into an unstoppable beast that dominates current popular music. Hip-hop and the internet share a symbiotic relationship, and they evolve in parallel to each other. Rappers are some of the biggest tastemakers in popular culture, so expect them to further utilize the internet in innovative ways to further evolve the culture.

What do you think of the internet’s relationship with hip-hop? Let us know!