Soundcloud- going the same way as Myspace?

[MonoStone]

6 hours ago, CapM said:

Sometimes I'll update a song with a new mix, but the mobile version still plays the older version even months later.  They have something in settings to "clear the cache," but it doesn't actually clear any cache that I can tell. 

 

Yep, their mobile app is trash...utterly crap! The cache thing is crap, and the lack of features or tools for members is crap. It's amazing how much crap some of these big sites get away with. Similar to Facebook, I feel like Soundcloud do stuff that feels like Beta...not for public release... but just put it out anyway.... because they can since they have little competition and massive membership already.

[MikeRobinson]

We definitely should bear in mind that "we live in a world of possibilities that never before existed."  Even though "anyone else on the planet can do it, too," we can put music directly into the hands of our audience, and we can do it ourselves, instantly, and with z-e-r-o "cost of goods sold."  No one has to produce vinyl disks or magnetic tapes, schlep them to physical warehouses and then to stores, in the faint hope that enough people will even see it to make the whole thing worthwhile.  You can literally sell something for a nickel, and pocket four cents as "net(!) profit."  These economies are completely unheard-of in business, until now.

Edited October 26, 2017 by MikeRobinson

[MonoStone]

After listening to some stuff on Soundcloud which is still getting a very large amount of attention, I'm even less certain that Soundcloud is in decline....

 

It's all about being part of the community. 

 

Sadly, if you're in... and if you're very active in that community...  the quality of a track has absolutely no relation to the number of plays, likes or comments. That's the worst thing about Soundcloud. It's always been that way but I don't like being reminded of it.

 

...

 

On 10/25/2017 at 9:16 PM, The S said:

Secondly, the criteria for "making it" has not changed. You need to be good! Crazy good! You need to produce quality! You need to evoke! You need to stand out! Maybe more so today than ever because of the over flooded market that is media today. Producing songs, videos, albums and even promote them is too easy these days. Even when you do promote them, your possible "fanbase" won't trust your art because we/they know it hasn't gone through the industry quality check it used to back in the day. For better or worse I can't tell

 

I totally agree with this.

Edited October 31, 2017 by MonoStone

[Carl Green]

I think my band is only on the fringes of the Soundcloud community, and maybe that's why our listens seem to fluctuate. We do have listeners but they're a fickle bunch  In comparison to a year ago, our plays are in a gradual downward spiral, which is odd because on the live front, selling albums, blog recognition etc we're heading in the opposite direction. Makes no sense really. The only solid on-line platform for us is You Tube which continues to grow, so it's more videos for us in 2018.

[starise]

There might be a few exclusions to the general rule that SC is in decline. For us maybe , yes. 

 

If you happen to be a promoted band you gain more visibility. Those names go right to the top of the pile. SC can work in a system that uses multiple other means of shameless self promotion. The plays are like funny money though. Add them to a dollars worth of anything and you'll get a dollars worth. Ego boosting sure, if you're into that kind of thing buy a few thousand plays and see what happens

 

Some of the folks I dealt with who got those large plays actually got cocky.  I'm lucky to have gotten some exposure, but it wasn't ever a part of any other plan for me. So have fun with your funny money. I did make a few good friends on SC and I'm thankful for that. Maybe what SC needs is a support group. Most of what happens has ulterior written all over it.

 

I agree it is nice to have a place to put our stuff and probably why I still use SC. It is freeing to have zero hangups about it. I'm still trying to be the best musician I can be, enjoying the ride and the rest of it is secondary.

[MonoStone]

On 10/31/2017 at 4:00 PM, Carl Green said:

I think my band is only on the fringes of the Soundcloud community, and maybe that's why our listens seem to fluctuate. We do have listeners but they're a fickle bunch  In comparison to a year ago, our plays are in a gradual downward spiral, which is odd because on the live front, selling albums, blog recognition etc we're heading in the opposite direction. Makes no sense really. The only solid on-line platform for us is You Tube which continues to grow, so it's more videos for us in 2018.

 

I looked at your Soundcloud page. You don't have a huge number of followers but you do have a great ratio of followers to following! 

 

And you get a very high number of plays compared to your number of followers... but you get few comments compared to the number of plays. 

 

... So based on those facts -  I'd guess you must generate the majority of interest and plays from outside of Soundcloud, which makes sense as you're a gigging band, and the Soundcloud 'community' aspect maybe isn't the factor for you in terms of why plays are down. Maybe selling albums reduces your Soundcloud plays, or maybe plays on other platforms reduce it....  

 

All in all it looks to me like you're bigger outside of Soundcloud than inside of it, and I don't know where your plays come from but Soundcloud probably has nothing to do with the number of plays you get. Which is a good thing really!    Your stats will tell you where the plays are coming from i.e whether they're from Soundcloud members playing from Soundcloud or from other sites where your songs are posted, such as your blog or Twitter or wherever.

[Carl Green]

Thanks for this MonoStone- very helpful and insightful. I hadn't considered it in this way. You're right in saying we generate most interest through playing live, and we notice Soundcloud plays go up after a particularly good gig. It's also true to say that since the release of the most recent Head Of Light Entertainment album in May, and the subsequent increase of You Tube views, our Soundcloud plays have gone down pro rata. The lack of comments has always puzzled us to be honest- we get the listens but little in way of feedback. I'm amazed when I look at some Soundcloud pages and see the sheer amount of comment some songs generate. Maybe our music leaves people speechless!! Anyway, wether Soundcloud is fading or not, we'll continue to post our music there. Every gig promoter, every blog writer, every DJ, all of them ask for a Soundcloud link. It's still industry standard, and until something supersedes it, for better or worse, all under-the-radar musicians need it.

[Richard Tracey]

I probably don’t push my soundcloud channel enough and certainly don’t interact with others as often as I should. Most of my music is work in progress and private so that the members on here can have a listen and rip it apart😉

 

Might have to try and listen to and comment more often and see what happens.