SoundCloud is currently the biggest music streaming and sharing platform in the music industry. Its lenient policies have made it easier for rookie artists to start their careers. All you need is to learn how to get noticed on Soundcloud and build your audience.
Getting the audience’s attention on SoundCloud is necessary to rise in the ranks and become a renowned musician. The more street cred you’ll have on SoundCloud, the more famous you’ll become in the music industry. Now, fortunately, there are 175 million SoundCloud users across the world, which means you have plenty of audiences to capture.
The only problem is that you’re not the only fish in the pond. There are over 25 million artists on this platform chasing audiences as well. That’s why in today’s article, we’ll teach you how to get noticed on SoundCloud by breaking down the 15 most effective industry tactics you can use to get the audience’s attention.
How to Get Your Music Noticed on SoundCloud?
Following tactics are trusted and recommended by SoundCloud gurus who have tested them and got positive results. With the consistent use of these tactics, your account will start getting noticed, and people will begin following you pretty soon.
1. Write an Interesting Bio
Your bio is what defines your personality and image as an artist. What kind of a person you are? What inspires you to create music? Your audience predicts all these things about you after reading your bio, so it needs to be elegant and interesting.
Start with a catchy phrase that convinces the audience to keep reading, and then write about yourself. Use sophisticated vocabulary and keep it light, so no one gets bored while reading it. A good bio will leave a great impression on your audience, and you’ll start getting recognized.
2. Make Great Music
An artist’s true worth lies in the music he creates. Creating great music is the key to getting noticed on SoundCloud. Music lovers just can’t say no to a good piece of music, so the more interesting and attractive your tracks, the more recognition you’ll get from the audience.
According to SoundCloud gurus, a great piece of music is one that meets all the standards of quality and audience expectation. You need to ensure that every track is well recorded, edited, and finished so your audience can enjoy it to the fullest. Also, focus on what your audience wants.
For example, if you create R&B music and lately your audience is showing interest in a specific sub-genre, you should focus on creating that music to keep your audience entertained. Once you start creating music that audience loves, you’ll start getting recognition in music circles and will soon become famous.
3. Be Active
Showing presence and staying active on SoundCloud is very important for getting discovered on SoundCloud. Leave comments, share tracks, join groups, and interact with fans to show your presence. This active participation will convince your audience that you’re a dedicated artist.
Also, the SoundCloud algorithm takes this social interaction positively and will start recommending your tracks to the relevant audience. It will lead to an increase in your reach and thus increase your popularity over time.
4. Use Relevant Tags
Adding relevant tags to your track makes it easier for people to find them. If you have added the “R&B” tag in your song, then whenever someone searches for R&B music, your track will also show up in the search results. That’s why it’s important to place tags while uploading a song.
Adding tags not only increases a track’s searchability but also makes it easier for the SoundCloud algorithm to recognize its genre. After that, the algorithm recommends the track to an audience interested in that tag.
The easier it becomes for people to find your music, the more chances you’ll have of getting plays and followers, so do thorough research before adding tags.
5. Publish at Best Time
Strike the iron when it’s hot! You must’ve noticed that there are certain hours of the day when most of your audience is active. That’s best for you to upload a track and get maximum attention on it from your target audience. If you don’t know the most active hours of your audience, then it’s not much of a problem.
You just need to observe the audience’s behavior pattern and look at past statistics. Go to SoundCloud analytics and check which tracks got more plays within the first two hours of release. You’ll definitely see some overlapping hours in those well-performing tracks. Note them down, and then upload your future tracks within those hours.
6. Share Everywhere
Nothing is better than promoting your music on SoundCloud your when your goal is to become famous on SoundCloud. You can start your promotional campaign from social media and use Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. to make posts about your music and ask friends to check it out.
You can also join music groups on social media and post teasers of your tracks there. The dedicated music lovers there will surely visit your account to check out the full version, and if by chance they liked it, your name will spread like wildfire in the SoundCloud community.
7. Use Your Waveform to Tell a Story
SoundCloud allows fans to comment on your tracks’ waveforms to share their views and feelings about them. Now, since this feature isn’t exclusive to listeners, you can comment on your tracks’ waveforms as well and tell a story. Experts suggest that a creator should comment on his track’s waveform and describe the process of its creation.
Talk about what led to the creation of this piece? What’s the idea behind this track? And the message it conveys. All of this information will help a listener understand the track better and enjoy it in the light of its context.
So consider telling a story via waveform comments as it can fascinate your audience and charm them to keep listening to your music and become your fan.
8. Album Art Matters
Making a great track isn’t just about focusing on the fundamental of music creation; it’s also about making your track look more attractive and appealing. For that to happen, you need to create extraordinary album art that can hold a listener’s attention and make him stop scrolling.
Album art is the first thing that a listener notices before clicking on a track, so it better be neat, clean, and sophisticated. Make sure that your album art matches the concept of your track and gives off an aesthetic vibe.
There are several sites on the internet that offer free templates for SoundCloud album art. You can use them to create something original and attractive to appeal to listeners.
9. Add Buy Link
If you want to sell your music on SoundCloud, then simply go to the Metadata section while uploading a track and add a buy link there. This will make it easier for your audience to purchase your track and increase your sales. It will also build your reputation as a premium-level artist on SoundCloud, which will lead to a boost in your fan base and popularity.
10. Be a Trendsetter
Instead of following in others’ footsteps, unleash the artist within you and set new trends on SoundCloud. Refine your process of music creation and constantly come up with new, innovative, and fresh music that gives your audience an experience they’ve never had before. Creativity is the key to becoming a trendsetter, so give as much time as you can to your art.
Once you become a trendsetter on SoundCloud, your popularity will rise in a matter of days, and you’ll be declared the people’s choice in no time. Also, if you get lucky, your music might get picked to be featured in the Editorial playlist, which will boost your popularity even more. Give everything to music, and become a trending icon of innovation on SoundCloud.
11. Create Successful Marketing Plans
Successful and effective marketing plans are important to get exposure and attract the audience’s attention. When you’re not busy with your artistic endeavors, focus on creating marketing plans that make you a hit on SoundCloud. Take professional help if you need it, but make sure that your plans work otherwise you might not get the attention you’re longing for.
12. Study Your Audience and Make Music
Your audience is the king, and as an artist, you need to fulfill their needs if you want to be a successful artist on SoundCloud. Stay on your toes and always keep an eye on their shifting interests to adjust your music accordingly.
If they want more indie music from you, give them that, or if your audience is interested in some specific sub-genre of R&B music, then divert all your focus on creating that music.
Interact with your audience and ask them which kind of music they would like to hear more often, take suggestions, and even ask them for constructive criticism. Do whatever is necessary to get regular updates about your audience’s interests to orient your music accordingly.
13. Tagging for Success
The importance of tags can’t be emphasized enough! Without tags, your fans won’t be able to find your tracks, and thus you’ll be buried deep in the massive sea of artists. To be successful on SoundCloud, you need to be honest while adding tags and keep it hundred percent real.
If you’ve created a drum bass track, focusing on hard rock metal, then add those tags so your audience can find your music in the right category. Remember that tags make your track standout in a category, so make sure that you always add the right ones.
14. Use SoundCloud Pro
With the advanced features of SoundCloud pro, it will be easier for you to promote and distribute your music. You’ll also be able to access detailed insights, which will help you understand your audience better and see their behavioral patterns.
You’ll also get unlimited upload time which is a huge upgrade from a mere 3 hours track time limit. Moreover, it will allow you to enable monetization for your content. So once you generate enough buzz around your account, move on to SoundCloud pro to get these perks.
15. Share Your Track Before Release
To give your audience a sneak peek of your upcoming track, you can share it exclusively with some of your oldest and most dedicated fans. News of this private share will spread among your fans and will not only boost their anticipation but will also increase your popularity.
Why? Well, because the rest of your fans will be impressed by the fact that you’re a local artist who takes care of his dedicated fans. That’s why you must share your track before release with some exclusive people to get more buzz around your song.
Conclusion
So, these are the steps you can follow to become a shining star on SoundCloud. We hope that you liked all these tactics and found them easy to understand and apply. Do come back for more interesting articles like these, and contact us on our social media for any queries.
