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| SoundCloud: Arguably the best platform for musicians. |
If you're a musician on the web, chances are you have a SoundCloud account. If you don't you should really get on that. It's a great platform built for the music community, you can upload your songs, people can download or buy them, comment, join groups, etc. But that's not why we're talking about SoundCloud. You want to know how to get more followers, more views, more plays, just more.
First off, I'm not a top dog on SoundCloud, not by a long shot. My following of 786 has given me 5,015 total plays. Compared to Snoop Dogg/Lion's 522,259 followers with one song being played 380,183 times, I really don't have much. But the majority of SoundCloud users have less than 100 followers, and less plays than followers.
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| 786 followers |
The Trick and Techniques
First, I'll tell you the trick to get a lot of fans quick. I have mixed feelings about this, as I'll explain in a pro's/con's comparison, but it is a very useful trick, especially when getting started.Follow others
Even if you're not really a fan of their music, following a person on SoundCloud will generally get a follow back; the whole L4L (like-for-like) process. Follow as many user as you can (SoundCloud caps you at 1600) and wait for about a week.
After a week has gone by, unfollow all of them (unless you genuinely like their content) and follow more people, once again until you reach the cap. Rinse and repeat.
This is where it gets tricky, though.
It's really hard to keep track of the 1600 people you followed the first time. Once you unfollow them and do the next wave, you might follow the same person again. This is kind of a pain. One thing to help is to keep a database of the people you've followed (I really recommend doing this. Really wish I'd done it when I started.) LibreOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office, both of which include a database program.
Cons:
- You gain a lot of "hollow" followers; most of them won't care and will end up unfollowing you as you post music.
- It feels a little spammy.
Pros:
- It's a great way to put your name out there fast. Like a company walking through a neighbourhood putting business cards in the door.
- Not all of them will be "hollow." Some will actually be interested in the music
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| Continually reach your cap of 1600 |
Also, having a Pro account helps. More info on that in a bit.
A this moment, take a break from reading, open up Microsoft Access, or LibreOffice Base and create a database for the people you follow. But include some more items, because these people may turn out to be more important to you than you know.
Information to include:
- User Name
- Following?
- Are they a follower?
- # of comments [on your music] in the last month?
- # of likes [of your music] in the last month?
Naming
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| Name it well |
Naming includes the title of your songs in SoundCloud, as well as your user name. Let's start with the user name since it'll only take a minute.
If the SoundCloud page is for your band or group, use the band or group's name. Simple as that. If you're doing things as a one-man band, then use the "band's" name. If you're posting up stuff as a solo act, use your name or your stage name. If you'll be posting different things, music from your band, solo stuff, etc., it'll be best to use your real name unless you have a "company" name that you use elsewhere on the internet.
The way you name your tracks will be helpful, that's part of how they get searched. You want the name of the track to lead specifically to that song. For instance, my song "Awaken, Light" needs to be the first track people see if they search for that name in SoundCloud. The conventions I've come to use that seem to help me are like this:
Artist - Album - Song Title - Comment
The comment in the title is important because in the name it gives some quick info.
Comments to stick to:
- WIP
- Featured Artist
- Cover (ex. Animus Complex cover)
- Free Download
- Teaser
Tagging and Picture
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| Use all 30 |
Are you using your tags? SoundCloud lets you have up to 30 tags per song, that's 30 extra things alongside the name and genre of your song that people will find your stuff.
There are actually certain types of tags that are best here:
- Genre - Don't forget to put your main genre in here
- Sub-Genre - Use these as well. If you make house music, include something like electrobeat. Some people like those different things.
- Artist name - So many people forget to include their own name in the tags. Why would you do that?
- Song title - Once again, overlooked.
- Similar artists - This one can be split up even further:
- Similar SoundCloud artists - Those popular on SoundCloud. Use them to your advantage, but be honest about it. I'm never going to tag Snoop Dogg because my music just doesn't match.
- Similar mainstream artists - Sometimes it overlaps with SoundCloud artists, but this is mainly for those that are huge in your genre (Killswitch Engage, for instance) who are being searched on the internet.
- Instruments - Include all the instruments you use: guitar, drums, bass, vocals, synth, violin, etc. Sometimes people are interested in hearing specific instruments. Or maybe you have something in there that's unexpected.
- Adjectives - Describe the sound of your track, the feeling that it gives, etc.
- Comment - Reference the comment. If it's a WIP, then include things like "unfinished," "work in progress," etc.
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| Research your tags |
Google Adwords has a keyword tool I can tell you more about in another article, but the basics of it are pretty useful. Put in your ideal tags, and see what suggestions are doing the best. Use those higher suggestions that apply.
As for the picture, it should be 300x300 pixels. Make it eye-catching, recognizable, memorable. If you have a logo, use it. If you have a really good photo, use it. You can have different photos for each song. Perfectly okay. Personally I will just be using the black and white version of my logo (the 7-Star Emblem) for this current series. Try to have some uniformity between the images you include for each track that's part of the same album/series; this can be colour, composition, subject, etc.
Description
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| Make your description awesome |
Ah, the description. You can put basically anything in here. I'll just tell you what I do personally, give some ideas, and explain some tips about it.
For a finished song, I break the description into four parts: the pitch, what you get, why it's a thing, technical info.
In detail:
- The Pitch - Coined as a "15-Second Pitch," it's the idea that within 15 seconds, you should get someone interested. This is one to three lines, tells the listener why they should care and what they get out of it. Generally, you want to go for the feels.
- What You Get - This is an elaboration of the The Pitch, about a paragraph in length. This is NOT where you detail the time it took to write this, but about what the listener can expect to hear, feel, etc. Don't tell them about the song, paint a picture for them about how this song is the soundtrack to the greatest party ever, or for the moment when throw the winning punch.
- Why It's A Thing - This is where you tell the listener why you wrote and recorded the song. If the What You Get is about motivation, tell them the story of how you came to this idea and why it needed to happen.
- Technical Info - Here you tell them about the recording process (let's face it, most people on SoundCloud are musicians, so you have to have tech stuff), the number of instruments tracked, influences, etc.
For a Teaser, I will have The Pitch and the What You Get.
Things to include:
- Call to Action - Use this subtly or explicitly if you wish. Use only once C2A for each song. This is key. If you have too many C2A's, then people will kind of freeze on what to do, so they'll do nothing.
- @Tags - Similar to Facebook, SoundCloud can use @Tags for users. The trick in doing this is going to their page and seeing how the user name is after the .com/ For example: https://soundcloud.com/smithultd would be @smithultd while https://soundcloud.com/haunted-shores would be @haunted-shores.
- Use links - SoundCloud allows you to use custom links, however images are not supported. I think banners would be sick. If you don't know how to do custom links, it's pretty simple. < a href="https://soundcloud.com/smithultd";>Check it.</a> becomes <a href="https://soundcloud.com/smithultd";>Check it.</a> Just take out the space in after < (so it becomes <a), use the link you want INSIDE the quotations, and switch out Check it. for the text you want to appear. Provide links to your Facebook page, website (definitely your website), YouTube, MySpace, etc.
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| Bad cropping at the top. |
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| Extra info |
These aren't really settings, but they're often forgotten.
Include:
- BPM - The tempo is good because some people build playlists from this.
- Release Date - Good for documentation.
- Key - Another filter for those who build playlists.
Go Pro
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| Going Pro gives you new features |
With more audio, you can add more songs, create a podcast, audio shoutouts to awesome fans, etc.
One of the nicer things about going Pro on SoundCloud is that you can private message people without a delay. Normal users have to wait about seven minutes to message another use. With the Pro account, you don't have to wait. You do, however, have a limit on the number of people you can private message in a certain time-frame. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but my best guess is five messages per half hour.
Etiquette
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| 5,015 plays in total |
Saying thank you to someone who comments, likes, or follows is a pretty powerful thing. You should leverage this while not being a douche.
When it comes to comments, there are a couple things to keep in mind:
- Everyone can see them. Use proper spelling and grammar, don't be a dick, and keep in mind other might ask the same question or have the same comment so don't dismiss it.
- It's meant as a conversation. A conversation is a great way to build interest in the song. If someone comments asking about the technique you used in one part, give them not just the answer, but a little more.
Hey, thanks for following me on here, I really appreciate the support. If it's not too much to ask, could you share my page with at least three people? I'd be super grateful.
Thanks again!
Riley Smith
Sometimes I add in a question to get a conversation started. But usually I save that for if they respond.
The C2A in this should be something small. To share with at least three friends, all they have to do is make a Facebook post, make three messages or emails, etc. There are many ways to do it and they're all pretty easy.
Something I tend to do is ask for a follow or comment if someone likes a song, and if they follow me I tend to ask them to share.
Conclusion
These are some of the best things I do to gain followers and plays. I guarantee that if you use these, you will see an increase in your numbers as well. Remember, you got this.
