SoundCloud is a cornucopia of audio tracks used by musicians, radio DJs, news journalists, or anyone else who wants to try it out. The site allows users to upload, share, and listen to audio recordings.
SoundCloud has all the typical sharing capabilities, where you can put an audio piece on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. And like other social media platforms, people can comment on your work. But where SoundCloud is different is its easy navigation, organization, and customizing capabilities.
SoundCloud is a great way to control every aspect of how an audio recording is shared. You can have a public or private account. You can set a price tag for downloads. You can determine if a track may be used on apps. And you can embed a recording into a website using SoundCloud’s visually appealing media player.
Also SoundCloud provides cool playlist options. Each audio track can be grouped into a playlist that has its own tags, description, and picture. And the playlist can be shared on several social media sites with all its tracks still intact.
Furthermore, when embedding sound into a website, SoundCloud gives you two options for displaying your recordings. My personal favorite is where the majority of the display looks like one long, horizontal sound wave. To me this is a very authentic look for an audio piece. But maybe you have an awesome picture that goes well with your track. Then obviously you should choose its other media player, where one picture remains prevalent in the background as users listen to your track. I know having two options isn’t a lot, but I believe SoundCloud’s players look so cool that it should be more than enough (oh and you can change the players’ color too).
SoundCloud is a great way for musicians and journalists to get his or her feet wet. The site has several topical categories; so any specific audience should be searchable. As a journalist, hoping to make it in the radio world, I think it’s a great place for my work to live as a way to get my stuff out there. Also, SoundCloud allows me to view the stats behind each one of my audio pieces so I can see how many people are listening and how many people of those people liked my recording. On SoundCloud, unless you’re very popular, people don’t usually comment on your work, so the stats at least give you an idea if you’re heading in the right direction in your pieces.
The only complaint I have concerning the audio-sharing website, is after a track plays through, SoundCloud automatically moves on to the next track, whether its in a playlist or not. I don’t know how many times I’ve showed someone a piece, then suddenly a different recording starts playing and me and whomever I am with, listen in confusion. I think the player should stop at the end of any track that isn’t in a playlist. Minutely, you can’t control the order of display on your profile page, but if scrolling to search for a past recording becomes a problem, it’s probably time to organize your tracks into playlists anyways. Oh and once you upload a track, you can’t upload a better version of it. You have to create an entirely new post and delete the old one, losing all your old viewing stats. Though the option is available if you upgrade your account, which I don’t blame SoundCloud for doing. I mean the site has to make money somehow.
Overall, if you have some sound you want people to listen to, I recommend always start by uploading your piece to SoundCloud.