SoundCloud is one of the best places online for new artists to get their music heard, but it is not always easy. With over 20 million other creators, there’s a lot of competition to get the attention of listeners. Let’s take a look at some ways to make your track stand out and draw listeners. 

Create eye-catching visuals

This might seem odd for a first tip, but having eye-catching visuals on your tracks and profile is an excellent way to draw the attention of first-time listeners. Use this as a form of branding to make yourself stand out.

One essential visual piece that must be on your SoundCloud page is a banner image. Being the largest image seen on your profile, you would want it to highlight elements of your visual branding, including:

• Color scheme: Choose a simple color scheme that visualizes the genre of your music. 
• Logo: While this is mostly associated with bands, individual artists can also create a logo as a shorthanded way to present themselves. 
• Design elements: You can incorporate other visual elements that match your style, as long as these don’t make the banner look cluttered. 
• Typography: Choose a font that blends with the other elements to reinforce your branding. 

Image: Billy Kenny Banner. Screenshot was taken on August 15, 2019

You can frequently change your banner to maintain the audience’s interest, but make sure all the elements remain consistent. You should also incorporate these elements into other art pieces you use for branding. DJ Billy Kenny, for instance, has a banner image that reflects his bouncy musical style.

Explore your traffic data more

Many new artists are often only concerned with the number of plays gained by their tracks. To understand how people receive your music and to improve, you need to dig deep into your SoundCloud analytics.

Image: Stats in a SoundCloud Analytics tool. Photo taken from SoundCloud blog

SoundCloud’s Pro version offers unlimited access to its Analytics section, giving you plenty of data. Some of the essential stats you need to check when reviewing your analytics are:

• Top countries: Displays the regions where most of your plays are coming from.
• Top listeners: This highlights the registered users who often play your tracks. 
• Top websites: This stat displays the sites where your plays come from.

By going through these different stats, you will get a more detailed picture of your music’s reach, letting you plan out your promotions better. For instance, connect with the people in your Top Listeners section, and turn them into your first groupies for increased promotions.

Make your music more accessible

While SoundCloud is already a great platform to host your music, not all your potential listeners are on it. To increase your reach, you need to distribute your tracks to other channels. A great thing about SoundCloud is that it does facilitate that distribution, giving you different options to share your tracks on other social media sites where people can play them. 

Image: The new SoundCloud Premier Feature. Photo taken from Rotenote

Another useful distribution tool is the new SoundCloud Premier feature. This lets you upload your SoundCloud tracks directly to different music streaming platforms, like:

• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Amazon Music
• YouTube Music

You can then manage your music pages on these platforms right within SoundCloud. This makes it easier for you to keep tabs on how well your tracks are doing outside SoundCloud. 

Engage with the SoundCloud community more

Interacting with fans is one of the best ways to push your music more. When people see you conversing with them, they become more interested in you and your tracks. Make it a habit to respond to their comments. You can also proactively ask their opinions on your tracks to help you improve.

Image: Stream Section on SoundCloud. The Screenshot was taken on August 15, 2019

Being a listener yourself is a surprising way to boost your music’s popularity. Look for tracks you like, and study how they become popular. You can even reach out to the artists and engage them. This is an effective way to introduce them to your music and get some potential promotion. 

These tactics are some of the ways you can boost your music on SoundCloud. As you continue to build your career on this site, explore more promotional strategies. This will help you attract an even larger audience and become an established act on the platform.

Date: August 17, 2019 / Categories: Tips, / Author: Disturbinsilence