How To Get Extra Performs on SoundCloud: 7 Killer Methods (2023)

As an artist, you’re answerable for selling your individual music. So how do you promote your self to get extra performs on SoundCloud?

Listed below are 5 rock-solid SoundCloud promotion methods which can be related for the music business in 2023. Right here’s a snapshot of what you’ll study:

• The reality about SoundCloud and promotion
• One factor that you must get proper earlier than you begin selling your self
• The best way to leverage current audiences to maximise your performs

By following these methods, you may improve the variety of performs you’ll get on SoundCloud, in addition to followers and likes. Let’s go! 👇

A Temporary Be aware to How Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

SoundCloud has made adjustments inside the previous couple of years the place the house web page is not your stream. Which means individuals who comply with you aren’t at all times going to be discovering your music when it comes out.

Together with key companies like Spotify and Apple Music in 2023 is essential in unlocking the complete energy of promotion and advertising and marketing.

Aside from that, let’s dive into the 7 greatest methods that can get you extra performs on Soundcloud 👇

Technique 1: Make (Truly) Nice Music

Whereas it’s doable to advertise crap music, it by no means survives the last word take a look at: the opinion of the viewers.

Irrespective of how a lot PR or advertising and marketing you give a monitor, if it’s actually common, then no one desires to pay attention, and also you gained’t get performs.

Always remember this golden rule of music promotion – your music is the advertising and marketing. You don’t simply market music, it’s inherently linked to the promotion course of.

Folks don’t purchase a vacuum cleaner in the event that they don’t need one, so individuals gained’t take heed to music in the event that they don’t prefer it. That is very true on Soundcloud, the place the barrier of entry is so low that plenty of horrible music will get uploaded, which means listeners have extra to sift via.

I’ve discovered over time that artists and producers (particularly those that desire a profession) are inclined to overestimate the standard of their music. I did within the early days, and you may go and take heed to my actually outdated music and listen to the advance over time.

Ought to You Add Every thing to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud…?

However this begs the query – ought to I add my music if it’s not 100% there but? That is controversial, however on a platform like SoundCloud, the stakes are a lot decrease, with eradicating tracks being only a click on away.

Plus, you’re prone to get worthwhile suggestions from the general public in case you ask for it, permitting you to gauge what is going to and gained’t work.

So whereas selling music on-line is vital, getting suggestions and taking that into the studio will show to be a way more worthwhile use of time.

So how do I make my music ‘higher’? That’s one other subject solely, and that’s additionally why now we have programs like EDM Foundations and Songwriting for Producers.

However a couple of pointers:

• Ensure your core musical concepts are strong – manufacturing, mixing and mastering gained’t matter in any other case
• Get suggestions from listeners, tastemakers and different artists
• Be affected person and hold making a big quantity of music

Technique 2: Pay for Your Soundcloud Account

There’s no getting round it – in case you really need your music profession to take off, you’ll have to speculate some cash in it.

That is additionally true of Soundcloud, the place plenty of nice options are solely out there for premium accounts.

In 2023, Soundcloud gives the next plan premium plan: Subsequent Professional.

Right here’s what’s included inside:

• Limitless tracks add (in comparison with a most of three hours within the free plan)
• Built-in distribution to platforms like Spotify and Apple Music
• Customized Tracks Highlight, permitting you to focus on particular tracks in your profile
• Superior listener stats and insights
• New uploads get mechanically pushed to your 100 most loyal followers

Fact be informed, a paid Soundcloud account is crucial in case you’re critical about boosting your stats.

Technique 3: Make Positive Your Account is Up-To-Date to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

We’ve additionally coated this in our Prime Spotify Hacks, however maintaining an up-to-date profile web page is vital.

Firstly, be sure that to jot down a brief, compelling bio. This may be the identical bio you have got in your Spotify profile web page:

Describe the style you produce in addition to a little bit bit about your self. When you’ve had any notable releases or main occasions you performed at, embody them right here too.

Subsequent, be sure that your profile and background pic are up to date.

Artists will typically replace their background pic to characteristic their newest launch. That’s an excellent concept, however be sure that to maintain it up-to-date. Ideally, your profile pic ought to be the identical because the one on Spotify for consistency’s sake.

Lastly, be sure that your social media handles are up to date:

When you’ve stopped utilizing a social media, then take away the hyperlink. No person desires to move to your Twitter profile solely to search out out you’ve haven’t posted since 2015 😅

Technique 3: Leverage Present Audiences to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

This is perhaps complicated to say, nevertheless it’s true.

There are people who find themselves at all times going to be higher at advertising and marketing music than you. So don’t reinvent the wheel, use these individuals to your benefit.

Folks dedicate their lives to discovering and sharing music to audiences that find it irresistible, so that you.

Discover channels on Soundcloud that may share your music to bigger numbers of individuals than you ever may.

This might come within the type of

• Repost channels
• Different artists with greater followings
• Promotional channels
• Labels/collectives
• Playlisters

Don’t ignore offsite audiences as properly. Simply because they don’t have bigger audiences on SoundCloud, doesn’t imply a weblog or YouTube channel can’t ship a number of performs your method.

Ensure to make the most of:

• Blogs
• Hype Machine
• YouTube Channels
• Spotify Playlists
• Influencers (e.g. vloggers, Instagram accounts)
• Radio stations (some play straight off SoundCloud!)

The important thing right here is to search out channels which can be match on your music. Don’t go messaging somebody simply because they’ve plenty of followers. They’re already searching for very particular sorts of music for his or her tastes.

So play a couple of of their earlier uploads/shares and decide. Don’t be too scared in case your music isn’t precisely the identical as what’s already there, but when it’s too totally different, it’ll seemingly get a cross.

As soon as who to ship music to, then that you must determine how.

Technique 4: Electronic mail continues to be King

How do you ship a message:

• that the recipient will get
• that goes to a spot they examine fairly often
• that’s easy and clear
• utilizing one thing everybody has
• that doesn’t depend on a platform that could possibly be gone quickly

The reply? Electronic mail. It’s outdated, however it’s still the best. How does this relate again to SoundCloud you may ask?

Electronic mail for Networking

Everybody has an e-mail. Artists. Labels. Promo channels. Repost channels. Avid music followers. And you’ll talk with them via this channel, irrespective of if they’ve Fb, Instagram, Twitter or not.

I received my greatest play numbers out of e-mail networking, together with a high placement on certainly one of Majestic Informal’s weekly playlists on Soundcloud. On this case, it was a kind that sends them an e-mail, however the level nonetheless stands.

An Precise Case Examine about The best way to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

Right here’s an instance of me emailing my monitor to somebody for a YouTube add, and have a look at the distinction in response time.

I received a response in lower than 24 hours!

Granted, this gained’t normally be the case for big names within the business, however e-mail networking works.

To not say that you could’t use avenues like Fb, Twitter and Instagram. These channels are nice however at all times strive e-mail first. And use the Hubspot extension to track email opens, you’ll thank me later.

To make this simpler, you’ll need to be making a listing of emails of related individuals you may ship your music to. Simply use Google Sheets or Excel.

A number of ideas & methods about sending emails:

• Be concise – the recipient is probably going already time-poor, so get to the purpose.
• Ship them a SoundCloud hyperlink – it’s the simplest to take heed to, and you may make it downloadable.
• Be conversational – don’t simply ship a hyperlink, really deal with the particular person on the opposite finish like a human, and also you’ll get handled like one too.
• Personalise messages – CC’ing a big record by no means works, and it typically annoys individuals, particularly if individuals ‘Reply All’. Ship one message at a time and as soon as once more, deal with them like a human.
• Comply with up – not all people is able to do one thing the primary time round. Comply with up in per week or two (relying on the particular person) in the event that they haven’t replied.

If you need extra promo e-mail etiquette ideas, check out this list from an industry professional.

Constructing a Checklist

With the decline of performs on SoundCloud (because of the decrease visibility of the ‘Stream’), it’s vital your core viewers nonetheless will get to listen to your music when it’s launched, and what higher method to this than e-mail advertising and marketing?

When you’re conversant in obtain gates like ToneDen and The Artist Union, maybe begin utilizing them to collect individuals’s e-mail addresses. When you’re a Bandcamp person, you may grab email addresses on checkout too. That method, you may construct a listing to ship your music to subsequent time you have got one thing to launch!

When you’ve received a listing, that you must discover a e-mail advertising and marketing service. Symphonic Distribution compiled a list of the best email marketing platforms for musicians, so be sure that to offer {that a} learn.

Technique 5: Repost Chains to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

This is likely one of the most helpful instruments to get extra performs on SoundCloud. And it’s an efficient method to garner the pressure of a number of accounts in a easy, automated method.

In essence, a repost chain is solely a gaggle of people that mechanically repost a monitor, every at a timed interval, to maximise publicity. A service like SCPlanner allows you to do this effortlessly.

Simply get a couple of music buddies in a sequence and one particular person submits new tracks to the chain. As every of you positive factors followers, you multiply the attain every time.

The best way to Be part of a Repost Chain

There are a couple of methods you may be part of or create a repost chain:

• Producer mates – get your inside circle collectively and signup to a repost chain. That method you get a assured baseline of publicity each time you add a monitor.
• Greater chains – lots of people on Fb teams and so forth. are searching for accounts to affix repost chains, as a result of the larger it will get, the extra worthwhile. The one caveat is normally you want a minimum of a sure variety of followers to affix these (e.g. 5000+ followers solely)
• Random chains – in case you simply want publicity, strive Googling ‘repost chain’ and also you’ll see a bunch of outcomes for submissions to sure chains. A few of these require fee, be cautious. Additionally, these aren’t essentially an efficient method to achieve promotion, as you could possibly get plenty of performs that don’t imply a lot. So be selective.

Sounds good, proper? Maintain up, there are some things to contemplate earlier than becoming a member of a sequence.

Firstly, ensure you’re okay with reposting the music in that chain. Does it match together with your model, or will it annoy your followers? Though the numbers might be interesting, maintain off in case you suppose it’ll harm your model.

Additionally, some individuals have an issue with repost chains as a result of it ‘abuses the repost characteristic’, so have a suppose if this works for you or not. Personally, I feel it’s high-quality so long as you repost music you want.

Seeking to increase your streams on Spotify as an alternative? Take a look at our 13 free ideas in our newest information right here 🔥

Technique 6: Leverage the Free Obtain Choice to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

In my view, the Free Obtain is certainly one of Soundcloud’s strongest instrument.

Firstly, enabling a free obtain is the quickest method to get a monitor into the arms of a DJ.

It’s because individuals don’t obtain tracks to play them on their pc. They obtain them to play them in mixes. Secondly, utilizing Obtain Gates is likely one of the greatest methods to extend Followers, and finally the variety of performs on Soundcloud.

When you’ve by no means heard of Obtain Gates, right here’s the TL;DR.

A Obtain Gate permits you to set various “steps” that folks want to finish earlier than downloading your monitor. More often than not, these can embody:

• Comply with your artist web page
• Just like the monitor
• Repost the monitor
• Touch upon monitor
• Present their e-mail tackle

Primarily based on the scale of your viewers, and the way assured your are, you may resolve so as to add roughly steps. I discover that asking individuals to comply with, like and repost your monitor is an effective compromise.

The most well-liked service is known as Hypeddit. It’s free, however you can too get a premium account to unlock extra obtain steps (akin to computerized emails to followers, and cross-platform following).

Technique 7: Make Your Music Discoverable

Now that the ‘Uncover’ tab exists on Soundcloud, the intention is to get your music featured on this new avenue of discovery.

One of the best ways to do this is metadata. Inform Soundcloud what your music is, and provides it the very best probability on the platform.

There are a couple of key methods to do that:

• Right Style tags
• Related monitor tags
• Title your monitor appropriately
• Make the most of the outline
• Get different engagement (likes, feedback and so forth.)

You is perhaps questioning why I’ve bolded ‘Right Style tags’, and that’s as a result of it’s in all probability probably the most vital elements in SoundCloud deciding the place your music can be positioned.

Past that, the extra metadata SoundCloud has, the extra alternatives it may give that monitor on the platform, not solely with ‘Uncover’ but in addition with the ‘Charts’ characteristic, particularly when it will get extra performs.

Related metadata goes past the platform into different companies like Google, which means your music will come up in search outcomes too.

Why?

As a result of Google reads textual content, not your thoughts, and if it could see who you’re and what your music’s referred to as, it’ll assist your probabilities of displaying up. Fairly neat.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Purchase to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

Everybody desires to take the simple street, proper? However oftentimes it’s merely not value it.

For a couple of thousand further performs within the quick time period, you may harm your profession, danger your account getting shut down, or just lose the belief of your true followers. Plus, it’s in opposition to SoundCloud’s Terms of Use.

I needed to point out this right here as a result of it’s typically one thing individuals think about once they’re trying to up their Soundcloud recreation. The identical might be mentioned for likes and followers, and different platforms too. These stats are faux and don’t present natural progress.

The Greater Image about The best way to Get Extra Performs on Soundcloud

Like I already mentioned, advertising and marketing and selling your music ought to transcend SoundCloud.

Performs aren’t the one factor to contemplate both.

But it’s arduous to advertise your music properly with out plenty of cash.

That’s why we made our information about selling your music on a finances. You’ll be able to seize it free under:

When you have questions on advertising and marketing and selling your music, let me know at [email protected] – I’d be joyful to reply.

Need extra promotion and advertising and marketing ideas? Take a look at 15 extra right here.