For musicians, growing a solid reputation on SoundCloud is key, as the platform provides opportunities to take their work to the next level, although the way in which they manage their account can often have as much of an impact on their success as the music itself.
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Guest post by Bo Turner from the Repost Network
As an artist it’s really important that you build your reputation on SoundCloud as much as possible. The platform opens up so many doors for upcoming musicians to take their music to the next level. In many cases, the way in which an account owner displays and manages their music on SoundCloud arguably has a larger impact on their popularity than the music itself. Here are some notable tips taken directly from the official SoundCloud blog that can inform you on how to increase your SoundCloud plays.
Keep your Tracks and Profile Clean and Organized
It’s very important that all of your SoundCloud content is “tidy” and easy to follow. A navigable profile page will go such a long way for your audience and potential followers. Here’s how you can easily accomplish creating such a profile:
For one, make sure that your track names make sense and are easy to search. SoundCloud’s blog gives examples of good and bad track names:
Bad title: AllxxThexStars051418vfinal
Good title: All the Stars
Another aspect of your profile that should be focused on is your images and descriptions within your tracks. With every one of your uploads you should attempt to make your songs look as good as they sound. This means high resolution cover artwork, a consistency in information and style, and a thorough track description. A good description includes info such as a backstory, credits, collaborators, lyrics, and links to any features or accounts associated with the song.
Add Mood Tags and Genres to All of Your Tracks
SoundCloud’s blog reveals that the platform uses algorithms to suggest music to its users. If you want your music filtered into these recommended songs, you’re going to have to add accurate mood and genre tags to all of your releases. Select a main genre as well as some sub-genres to be tied to your songs, but keep in mind that it’s important that these descriptors are accurate. Having a few tags that relate to your track will be much more effective than adding a bunch of crazy random ones.
SoundCloud has launched a 2018 ad campaign centered around celebrating creators who’ve been discovered through their platform, which also presents a great promotional opportunity for artists who want more exposure. With this in mind, we recommend including the #SCFirst hashtag in your song description or on social media. For more information on the campaign feel free to read all about it here.
Create and Build a Discography
Within SoundCloud, it’s possible to organize a group of your released tracks into an album. By creating a playlist of your songs and marking them as either an album, EP, or compilation, users are able to easily access these lists at the album section of your profile. Your albums will be displayed based on release date to make it more convenient for page visitors to navigate. This looks great on your profile and adds another professional aspect to your account.
Make sure to edit your SoundCloud account as soon as possible to increase your number of streams and overall exposure!