With over 10 million creators on board, getting your music established on SoundCloud can be a challenging effort. To help you out, one of the site’s top honchos is offering some advice on how you can get your tracks discovered.
Defining your success on SoundCloud
In an interview with AWAL.com, SoundCloud’s Vice President for Content and Community Megan West said the first key in making successful music is having a good idea of what success would be like. She said that it will help musicians establish their goals and look for ways they can branch out.
West noted that artists now have more freedom in defining success for their respective careers, but they still need to have a clear way of measuring it. This is where having the right kind of data comes into play. The SoundCloud executive stressed that artists should not only be focusing on the prominent ones, like the number of plays a track has. but also look into other pieces of data:
- She gave the location where the plays are coming from as an example of the wider data set that creators should look into.
- West said that musicians will likely be surprised when they see plays coming from unexpected places.
By finding out who those listeners are and why they are listening to your tracks, you can plan out how to turn them into a new audience.
Sharing your music the right way
Another topic that West looked into is the release strategies used by SoundCloud artists. She pointed out that many artists don’t follow the traditional two-year album cycle that their counterparts rely on. They instead release new music as they see fit, doing single-track releases and whole album uploads on a more varied timetable.
West explained that such a flexible schedule better suits the need to keep listeners engaged on an online platform like SoundCloud, and in today’s what-have-you-done-lately mediasphere. She noted that the attention span of the current generation listeners are short, and artists need to provide them with content that would best resonate with them often.
West presented the band SUICIDEBOYS as an example of artists that have adapted to the non-traditional release schedule. She noted that they release songs immediately after finishing them, giving their listeners a continuous stream of new songs.
The executive added that engagement shouldn’t be limited to just putting out new tracks. You should also give your listeners the means to provide feedback on your work. SoundCloud itself offers a variety of ways that you can receive and respond to feedback, like regular comments and on-track comments. Make sure that you respond to such as much as possible to show your audience that you really do listen to them.
Getting the right partner
The last point West covered is the importance of having a partner to help you take your career to the next level. She reminded that your choice of a partner, and indeed the decision to get one, should be guided by your initial definition of success. Some people go so far as to buy Soundcloud Followers to obtain social proof of their music.
West added that the partner you get should also believe in the vision you have for your career. They also need to fully understand how to make your plan work. Make sure that you discuss with them everything about your career goals and what you have done so far to popularize your music.
West’s advice is definitely going to be welcomed words for budding SoundCloud artists like you. Use her commentaries as a guide for planning and executing your career plans and you might soon find yourself at the top of the SoundCloud charts.