WHY YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON SOUNDCLOUD

Exploitation of Free 

Spotify has a free tier but users on the free tier cannot stream music on-demand. As a result, they have no control over what they listen to as far as being able to stream a specific song when they want. They can stream playlists and they can stream an artist’s catalog on shuffle, but they can’t stream on-demand. Youtube is free but monetization is iffy. Artists aren't paid for every view on Youtube, they’re paid a percentage of revenue earned from a view of an ad. If a viewer doesn’t watch an ad, there’s no revenue to split. All users have the option of skipping an ad after 5-seconds have passed. An artist can generate a million views and if all users skip the ads the artist won’t earn a dime. 

Soundcloud monetizes free listeners with ads but ads can’t be skipped and the platform pays a percentage of revenue based on an artist’s total number of streams. Revenue is pooled together and split between all artists so every play is monetized which contrasts Youtube’s system. Unlike Spotify, Soundcloud users can stream songs on-demand so a free user can stream an artist’s music just as much as a paid user. 

With the combination of monetization and listener access, artists can benefit from all traffic driven to Soundcloud. Through Soundcloud’s Fan Powered Royalties, artists can make more from fewer listeners if they can manage to dominate their time spent streaming. The tools Soundcloud provides and the access to listeners make cannibalizing a fan’s streaming time easier than other platforms. 

Soundcloud Monetization & Tools

Direct uploads

Because you have the ability to upload whatever you want whenever you want, it can be used as an effective promo tool and means of re-engaging your audience.