What Do You Want in a Music Streaming Service?
There are so many different music streaming services these days. Frankly, it can be more than a little overwhelming to figure out which ones to use. This is especially true when you take into account the fact that the majority of them aren't free - at least not if you want to have an enjoyable listening experience unencumbered by ads.
Most music streaming sites nowadays operate on a free and paid model. However, in most cases, the free version comes with a lot of limitations (they're just not monetary). Your features will be severely limited, you won't be able to listen to all content, and you'll have to sit through annoying ads after every 2 or 3 songs.
Since each music streaming platform offers different features and privileges, it's important to figure out what you want from them before you decide which one to use. For example, some platforms might offer more exclusive content or a wider selection of songs than others.
For people who enjoy discovering new music and creating personalized playlists, Spotify is a great option. For audiophiles who want the best possible sound quality, Tidal is the perfect choice. For fans of music who want full access to exclusive content not found on any other service, Pandora is a good choice.
So, what music streaming service are you looking for? Are you a fan of mainstream pop hits or do you prefer more obscure, underground artists? Do you use social media on a regular basis? If so, do you think that having a built-in social network element to your music streaming service would be enjoyable for you?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then it's likely that SoundCloud is the streaming platform for you. If you're both a fan and musician, SoundCloud is different from other music streaming services. It's made up mostly of artists, producers, and DJs who are networking with one another and listening to music just as often as they're posting music of their own. It's a mutually beneficial streaming service for fans and artists alike, so if you're interested in pursuing a music career, SoundCloud is an important site to have a presence on.
The Largest Music Streaming Service in the World?
SoundCloud was founded in 2007 in Berlin, Germany by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss. In just over 10 years, it has rapidly grown into one of the largest music streaming services in the world.
This music streaming platform boasts 175 million monthly listeners and 75 million monthly subscribed users around the globe. This success was likely achieved through providing an excellent freemium music streaming service, right? Let's take a look for ourselves and see.
The site design might be a little hard to navigate at first. It's cluttered compared to other music streaming services, which tend to go for a more minimalist approach. Then again, most other music streaming platforms don't do nearly as much as Sound Cloud does - so, we can forgive the clutter, I think, especially considering the fact that, once you get the hang of how to move around the site, it becomes as simple as any other. Just a matter of getting used to it.
One of the reasons for the clutter is because Sound Cloud is more than just a music streaming site. It is a hybrid streaming service and social network, so they have a lot of data and features to try and fit onto a single page. The way that they've opted to do this is to place their music steaming features in the center of the page, their social network features on the right-hand side, and an ever-present music player spanning the bottom of the page. This way, it's convenient and not in the way.
On the middle of your Sound Cloud home page, you will find a list of newly featured music, a section that allows you to browse the Sound Cloud charts by genre, top playlists, some suggested songs based on your listening habits, a new arrivals corner (usually dedicated to bigger artists), and trending songs for you to check out. In the social networking section of your home page, you will find suggestions of who to follow, as well as your own listening history. There is a lot going on as I said, but once you get used to it, it is nothing to be intimidated about.
Free Version for Fans; Pro Version for Serious Artists
Hi, so I wanted to address something else that I brought up earlier about Sound Cloud being primarily geared towards artists. This isn't to say that there won't be enough for you to enjoy as a listener. But if you're just using Sound Cloud as a casual fan, there's no need to upgrade to a paid account. You can just enjoy the site for free without any notable issues that will degrade your experience.
However, if you are an artist and are considering creating a Sound Cloud account, I strongly recommend going with the Sound Cloud Pro Unlimited account. It will cost a little bit more than, say, Spotify each month? it's $12 a year billed yearly, or $16 per month billed monthly. So, it is certainly not cheap. But if you are a musician and are serious about taking your craft and career to the next level, chances are it will be worth it. Sound Cloud, after all, has been responsible for launching numerous successful artists' careers.
If you're serious about taking your music career to the next level, I highly recommend looking into Sound Cloud Pro. With a Sound Cloud Pro membership, you can upload an unlimited amount of any type of audio, and also take advantage of exclusive Sound Cloud promotional opportunities. You can also distribute your releases across all major streaming platforms, all through Sound Cloud.
However, if you're not as interested in pursuing your own music career, SoundCloud's free version might be perfect for you. You'll be able to discover new music, follow your favorite artists, and even message them directly.
Over 165 Million Songs!
Wow, speaking of a ton of music, Sound Cloud may just be the largest music streaming platform in the world. Whereas Spotify has 30 million songs, Apple Music has 45 million, and Tidal has 60 million; none of them come anywhere close to competing with Sound Cloud's quantity. With 125 million songs for you to choose from, you will never run out of new tunes to vibe to. Plus, new songs are being added to Sound Cloud all the time; so, the number is bound to be even higher by the time you create your account.
Overall, I think Sound Cloud may not be the most convenient or easiest music streaming service to use, but it is certainly the largest. It has music from all of your favorite big-name artists, as well as countless tracks from underground and up and coming acts you haven't heard of yet.
If you want an enormous music streaming service that doubles as a social network, SoundCloud's free version is a great place to start. And if you are looking to grow as an artist and step your music career up to the next level, you should definitely look into SoundCloud Pro for $14 a month. Either way, SoundCloud is a great way for fans and artists alike to connect and share their music.
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