Soundcloud vs Spotify: Which One is Proper for You in 2024?

Soundcloud vs Spotify: questioning which platform is best for you?

Choosing the proper platform might be difficult – each provide distinctive options for listeners and artists alike.

That’s why we made this information for you! Whether or not you’re a client or a producer of music, we’ll lay out precisely what units these two streaming platforms aside, together with:

• which platform is the most costly 💸
• the form of music you discover on every platform 🎶
• options of every platform 🎛️
• person expertise 📱

… and much more! Be at liberty to make use of the desk of contents under to leap to the part related to you 😊

Half 1: SoundCloud vs Spotify as a Listener

In search of your subsequent streaming platform? Let’s examine SoundCloud and Spotify when it comes to listener expertise.

What sort of music is on SoundCloud and Spotify?

An important query to reply is: “What’s going to I discover on Soundcloud and Spotify”?

The content material is arguably what units the 2 platforms essentially the most aside.

Let’s have a look at SoundCloud first. Right here, you’ll discover a ton of user-generated content material. This contains issues like:

• demos;
• unofficial remixes and bootlegs;
• full mixes (both recorded at house or taken from in style membership nights and festivals).

You’ll in fact additionally discover official tracks by mainstream artists. However this isn’t what SoundCloud is understood for. Due to the open-upload nature of the platform (extra on that later), you’ll discover just about all the things beneath the solar. So in case you get pleasure from discovering new, experimental, or underground music, that is the platform for you.

Then again, in case you search extra polished and industrial releases, then Spotify is the go-to.

Spotify gives an ultra-extensive music catalog that spans mainstream, indie, and area of interest genres. From the Beatles to David Guetta and Mozart, you’ll discover just about any official launch from the previous 60 years and extra on right here. However you gained’t discover any dodgy bootlegs or mashups 😅

Spotify can be house to hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands of podcasts. That’s one thing you’ll not often discover on Soundcloud.

With the flexibility to remark and repost tracks, Soundcloud is at the beginning a community-driven platform.

Commenting immediately beneath a observe allows you to work together with the artist, and makes you’re feeling a part of one thing larger:

You can even repost a observe, which can make it seem by yourself feed. It is a nice strategy to help rising artists and makes SoundCloud really feel extra like a social community than a streaming platform.

This isn’t to say that Spotify doesn’t have any community-based options.

However they aren’t as inherently social as with SoundCloud. For instance, on Spotify, you may see what your folks are listening to (however this requires connecting by means of Fb). However you may’t touch upon tracks. You’ll be able to’t share songs throughout the platform. And you may’t immediately message individuals, in contrast to SoundCloud which has its personal messaging platform.

Nonetheless, Spotify does have some neat social options:

• “Begin a Jam”: generate a QR code that anyone can scan to start out including tracks to the present playlist being performed;
• Invite “collaborators” to a playlist;
• and naturally, Spotify’s massively in style “Wrapped” – an end-of-year abstract of what you listened to damaged down by genres, artists, and extra.

Discovery options

Whereas Spotify doesn’t have so many community-driven options, there may be one space the place it excels: discovery.

When you can uncover lots of wonderful music on SoundCloud, you largely must do the digging your self. On Spotify nevertheless, you’ve acquired dozens of how to find new music:

• Launch Radar: a weekly playlist with the most recent releases from the artists you like;
• Every day Mixes: every day playlists curated by style based mostly on tracks you already like;
• Uncover Weekly: a weekly curated playlist based mostly on tracks you’ve been taking part in essentially the most not too long ago, and what different listeners have added to their playlists round these tracks.

On prime of this, you’ve acquired “Go to track radio”, a function that robotically creates a playlist based mostly on a single observe. Spotify additionally has a “Sensible Shuffle” perform, the place it can add suggestions when you play one in every of your playlists on Shuffle.

When you love discovering new music, however in a extra passive approach, Spotify is a goldmine.

SoundCloud’s algorithm undoubtedly isn’t nearly as good at matching tracks collectively. While you play a observe, you’ll get a number of “Associated tracks” on the facet:

However to be trustworthy, it’s actually hit-and-miss in the event that they’ll match what you’re at the moment listening to.

To be truthful, Soundcloud additionally has custom-made playlists based mostly in your listening habits:

• Every day Drops: a every day playlist with new releases based mostly in your style;
• Artist Stations: playlists based mostly round artists you like;
• Artists You Ought to Know: new artists so that you can uncover.

So SoundCloud is certainly catching as much as Spotify on that entrance.

How a lot will it price me?

SoundCloud has 3 totally different pricing tiers:

• Free;
• SoundCloud Go at USD 4.99/month;
• SoundCloud Go+ at USD 10.99/month.

Then again, Spotify solely has 2 tiers:

• Free;
• Spotify Premium at USD 11.99/month.

Nonetheless, Spotify gives 2 totally different multi-account plans:

• Spotify Duo at USD 16.99/month;
• Spotify Household at USD 19.99/month.

The one requirement for these multi-account plans is that every one customers reside on the identical deal with.

Nonetheless, one other vital side is how your subscription helps artists.

That is the place the controversy over the user-centric royalty mannequin is available in. Right here’s the TL;DR:

• Mannequin 1: Professional-Rata. Your subscription cash goes into an enormous pool. That pool is then break up amongst artists based mostly on the share of streams they acquired on the platform.
• Mannequin 2: Consumer-Centric. Your subscription cash goes on to the artists you take heed to, regardless of what number of streams they’ve.

In mannequin 1, let’s say 50% of all of the streams are Taylor Swift songs. This implies 50% of your subscription cash goes to Taylor Swift, even in case you’ve by no means listened to a track of hers. That is how Spotify works.

In mannequin 2, let’s say you solely take heed to a teenage singer-songwriter for Arkansas named Lazy Bob. All of your subscription cash would immediately go to him – even when he solely represents .0000001% of streams. That is what Soundcloud adopted with its Go+ mannequin.

The professionals and cons of those 2 fashions are still hotly debated. Ultimately, it can rely on how a lot you worth listening to and supporting rising artists. There’s nothing mistaken with listening to music on Spotify – however you simply should be conscious that your subscription cash is unlikely to make a distinction for the indie artists you take heed to.

Half 2: Soundcloud vs Spotify as an Artist

When you’re an artist and also you discovered your strategy to this text, you’ve doubtless jumped on to this part. So welcome! 😊

You’re most likely asking your self one of many following questions:

• which platform is best to advertise my music?
• how can I add music to Spotify?
• which platform pays me extra?
• how do I get on in style playlists?

Earlier than entering into these questions, let me level you to some guides we’ve written on these subjects:

So if you wish to dive into the nitty-gritty of SoundCloud vs Spotify promotion, I like to recommend studying them. On this information, we’ll hold it to a quick overview.

How can I add my music on SoundCloud vs Spotify?

As an artist, that is arguably the most important distinction between Soundcloud vs Spotify.

Right here’s the super-quick TL;DR:

• SoundCloud: anyone can add music. All that you must do is create an account. Nonetheless, in case you’re on a free plan, you’ll be restricted to 180 minutes of whole add.
• Spotify: you’ll want a “distributor” who will add the music for you. That is only a fancy approach of claiming that you simply want one other (paid) account on a platform like TuneCore or Distrokid. You submit your music to them, they usually’ll add it to Spotify.

SoundCloud is certainly a faster and smoother course of. All that you must do is click on “Add”, choose your file and also you’re accomplished. Importing a observe to Spotify is a a lot lengthier course of, with a number of fields and types to fill in.

SoundCloud: an important software for collabs and demos

Nonetheless, there’s a motive why SoundCloud’s add course of is so easy.

In my thoughts, SoundCloud and Spotify are complementary.

For me, SoundCloud performs way more of a “work-in-progress” function, in addition to a networking software. For instance, as quickly as I end a model of a observe, I’ll instantly add it to SoundCloud in non-public mode. This fashion, I can take heed to it on my morning commute. I’ll then get again to the studio with an inventory of concepts on how you can enhance it. This additionally works while you collaborate with somebody.

SoundCloud can be an important software to pitch tracks to labels.

Labels completely hate Dropbox or WeTransfer hyperlinks that don’t work half of the time. All they need is a SoundCloud hyperlink with the “Obtain” function enabled:

Then again, Spotify acts extra as a platform for the completed product. That is the place you (or the label) will add the track to succeed in the widest viewers doable.

Rising your viewers on SoundCloud vs Spotify

SoundCloud is a platform geared towards supporting rising producers.

That’s why you’ll discover a number of instruments devoted to rising your fanbase:

• Free downloads: in case you’ve self-release a observe, or uploaded a bootleg, you may set it as a free obtain. This implies anyone can obtain it immediately out of your profile and play it out.
• Obtain gates: ideally, it is best to mix a free obtain with a “obtain gate”. It is a necessary step (comparable to liking or commenting) earlier than having the ability to obtain the observe.
• The power to add bootlegs is a good way to go viral on the again of in style tracks.

Don’t fear, we discover these methods and extra intimately in our SoundCloud Promotion information 😉

Then again, rising your viewers by means of Spotify is sort of restricted. You’ll be able to ask individuals to observe you, and that’s just about it 😅

Now it’d seem to be I’m bashing on Spotify. However removed from it. I believe being on Spotify is crucial.

They only play two very totally different roles. SoundCloud is essential to develop your preliminary viewers and construct connections. Spotify then permits you to construct on that preliminary fanbase and attain just about anyone on the planet.

How a lot will it price me?

For artists, pricing takes on a special angle—SoundCloud’s and Spotify’s fashions diverge considerably.

SoundCloud permits artists to add music without spending a dime, although that is restricted to a three-hour cap on uploads.

When you’re severe about music manufacturing, this shortly gained’t be sufficient. Particularly in case you add hour-long mixes. Due to this fact, you’ll shortly want the Subsequent Professional subscription, which prices USD 8.25 / month. You additionally get deeper insights into viewers analytics and scheduling instruments for releases.

On Spotify, the pricing will rely on the distributor you select. Listed below are a number of the hottest ones and their pricing:

• Distrokid: the most affordable plan begins at USD 1.92 / month and permits for limitless uploads;
• Tunecore: additionally USD 1.92 / month;
• Ditto: USD 1.6 / month for limitless music.

As you may see, there isn’t a lot distinction between distributors when it comes to pricing. And it’d seem to be selecting Spotify here’s a no-brainer. It’s in any case so much cheaper than importing music to Spotify.

Nonetheless, I come again to what I discussed earlier: SoundCloud and Spotify are complementary platforms.

Certain, Spotify is so much cheaper to add. However you may’t add your newest 4-hour combine. Or that cheeky Britney Spears bootleg. Ultimately, in case you’re severe about your music manufacturing profession, you’ll want each.

SoundCloud vs Spotify: Last Ideas

That’s it for this information on SoundCloud vs Spotify. Hopefully, we had been capable of filter a number of the questions you had, whether or not a listener or a producer.

From a listening perspective, you may get away with utilizing just one or the opposite. However from an artist’s perspective, you actually need each platforms to develop your viewers and attain new individuals.

Did we miss out on something? Another questions you had? Be at liberty to drop us a line at [email protected]