Besides musicians, SoundCloud is also a place for music managers, producers, radio hosts, influencers, podcast hosts, venue owners, and label representatives.
Basically, it means that SoundCloud is the perfect platform for you to meet like-minded people and grow your career. On the one hand, you can get promoted by influencers, and on the other, labels will probably take you up, making you go viral in no time.
However, none of this happens without effort. In this guide, we discuss a step-by-step guide to kickstart your musical journey on the platform.
How To Get Started On SoundCloud?
While other social platforms are mainly for socializing, your SoundCloud profile also acts as a resume. So, you have to set it up accordingly.
Keep A Relevant Name
Your profile name is the first thing anyone will stumble upon, so it must be relevant. Plus, people will search for you using your real or stage name, so make sure that’s what your username is.
For instance, if you perform at a festival and someone in the audience particularly enjoys your music, they might go home and search for you. If your username is rockyboy213, there’s no way in the world they’ll ever be able to find you.
On the other hand, if your username is your stage name or real name, it will be easier for the listeners to find you. Here are some tips to get the name right:
-
Use your real name. If you use a stage name, you can use it. Or, if you’re in a band, keep your band’s name as the display.
-
When choosing the profile URL, keep something short and concise. For example, https://soundcloud.com/selenagomez.
-
If this URL is already taken, you can get a little creative with your URL, but don’t completely go off track.
-
Stay professional rather than being whimsical. You’ll be using your name and URL to market your account, so it must be something that appeals to your audience.
At the end of the day, your aim is to make your account easily discoverable for the audience, especially through Google. With a name like rockyboy213, you’ll have one hell of a time making it to Google’s rankings.
Consider giving your profile and music an instant boost with our SoundCloud services.
Add Links To Your Account
SoundCloud is not your primary social account. You have to add links to your other socials so that people can connect with you.
The best way to get traffic from other platforms to your account is to add your SoundCloud link to your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Furthermore, you can also put the links for other socials in your SoundCloud account. More than half the users in the US access more than one social media platform. Therefore, it’s in your interest to connect multiple social media platforms to your SoundCloud account.
Besides social media, you should also focus on YouTube since it helps bring you more traffic.
Post Quality Tracks
No matter how good the melody or lyrics are, if the track is recorded in low quality, the audience will not receive it well. So, you should avoid this by posting complete songs that you’re completely satisfied with.
Moreover, make sure that the tracks have been recorded properly and mixed by professionals. Even if you don’t have the best equipment, you should try to hire it or go to a studio to record your track.
Do Mash-Ups and Remixes
If you want your music to reach a larger audience, you can start by making remixes and mash-ups. Depending on your music style, you can even do covers if that’s what you feel more comfortable with.
A Norweigan artist named Finnebassen found fame on SoundCloud due to his remixes. At one point, he became so popular that BBC Radio 1 invited him to make an Essential Mix for them.
However, do not sell any of your creations that are based on other people’s work unless you can clear it with the original artist.
Name Your Tracks Properly
Like any other platform, the algorithm on SoundCloud also directs people to music they particularly enjoy. So, your best bet to follow up on the algorithm is to name your tracks properly.
Your track name should tell the people what its title is and who it is by. For instance, if you’re making a remix, make it clear in the title.
Likewise, if the song is premiering, write Premier in the title.
If it’s just a preview, write that in the track name too. If you want to post a live set, mention the location in the title too. It will help people find you easily after the show.
Collaborate With Relevant Creators
Your SoundCloud growth also depends on community-building and how well you interact with the other artists in your niche. You can grow your account by collaborating with artists who already have a substantial audience.
However, you shouldn’t simply make a song with someone with a significant audience if their music style is not compatible with yours. Doing so might have a negative impact on your performance since you may not be able to give your best in an unfamiliar niche.
Besides collaborating on full tracks, you can also use someone’s melody while adding the lyrics yourself. Or, you can share your beat with a rapper and create a song together.
Instead, collaborate with artists who’ve already made music like you. Since their audience likes that certain music style, they’re likely to follow you too.
Conclusion
While SoundCloud is a great way to promote your music and find your fanbase, it can be a bit difficult to get started, considering the fierce competition.
However, people like Lil Pump started from SoundCloud, so there’s hope for you too.
Once you have a SoundCloud strategy in place, and a boost from our SoundCloud services, you can gradually grow your account by promoting your music through the right channels to the appropriate audience.