SoundCloud is experiencing a resurgence, reasserting itself as a crucial platform for independent artists and music enthusiasts alike. This unexpected revival, particularly pronounced through the latter part of 2023 and into 2024, goads me to take a deeper look into what’s causing its revival.
Contrary to the narrative that the platform was losing relevance amid stiff competition from giants like Spotify, SoundCloud’s distinct approach to nurturing a community around music creation and sharing stands out. With its unique blend of social media-like features and a focus on unsigned artists, SoundCloud offers something other streaming services can’t quite replicate. This pivot back to its roots, emphasizing tools for distribution, monetization, and fan engagement, has benefitted creators and re-attracted listeners and notable artists to the platform.
Diving into the specifics, experts from RepostExchange shed light on why SoundCloud’s strategy is succeeding where others might falter. The platform’s introduction of features that foster a more community-driven experience—such as improved commenting functionalities, reposting capabilities, and direct messaging—has been instrumental in this revival. These features, alongside the innovative Fan-Powered Royalties model, present a compelling case for why artists and producers increasingly prioritize SoundCloud.
Furthermore, RepostExchange’s unique position in this ecosystem, focusing on genuine, reciprocal engagement within the SoundCloud community, highlights the ongoing evolution of how music is shared and discovered. So we decided to sit down with Ed Worboys, CEO and Co-Founder at Repost Exchange to get his behind-the-scenes insights into SoundClouds second wind.
SoundCloud is having a second come up throughout the back half of 2023 and into 2024. Why do you think that is?
SoundCloud’s resurgence in popularity throughout 2023 and into 2024 took many by surprise, but on closer analysis, it is clear that their overall approach to developing the platform over the last few years is really starting to pay off.
In my opinion, it’s their reinforced commitment to independent artists that is the key factor. For a number of years it seemed that SoundCloud were flirting with the idea of competing directly with Spotify and similar DSPs, when the very thing that made them unique was their huge roster of unsigned artists and vast catalog of unreleased music.
SoundCloud’s renewed focus on serving this demographic with better tools for distribution, monetization and fan engagement has rippled through the whole ecosystem and in turn attracted more listeners and indeed bigger artists back on to the platform.
What new features have SoundCloud rolled out that make it more community-driven compared to other streaming platforms?
SoundCloud has always been the only major audio streaming platform to offer classic community-oriented features such as commenting, reposting, and direct messages. For newer and emerging artists, this kind of feedback from fans and peers is as valuable, if not more so, than raw plays and limited royalties.
The revamped SoundCloud mobile app now supports all of these features where it didn’t previously, and the desktop site incorporates yet more new community functionality, such as encouraging reciprocal commenting between artists, a way to add context to reposts and the ability to ‘like’ comments, and much more.
Tell me some other less obvious benefits of prioritizing SoundCloud over Spotify when it comes to online streaming numbers and presence.
SoundCloud pioneered the innovative Fan-Powered Royalties model, where the revenue generated from a fan would be split amongst the artists they listened to, rather than all artists on the platform. This approach is far fairer and more lucrative for independent artists who might have a smaller but more focused fan base, and a model that I would hope is being considered, at least in part, by more of the streaming platforms.
Over the last year or so, we have noticed that many of the more prominent labels we work with use SoundCloud as a major part of their pre-release strategy (often alongside TikTok). By releasing a track or preview on SoundCloud a few weeks before Spotify, they can generate hype, reward their most engaged fans, and build up momentum in terms of pre-saves or similar on other platforms.
How does RepostExchange work differently than other repost networks and groups?
RepostExchange stands out from the crowd due to its scale, functionality, and transparency. We have over 400,000 members, ranging from bedroom DJs and emerging songwriters to major record labels and award-winning artists. We specialize exclusively in SoundCloud as a platform, and its sole focus is reflected in the quality and stability of the product. Furthermore, we are completely compliant with SoundCloud’s terms of use.
RepostExchange pioneered the credit-based system whereby SoundCloud accounts of all sizes can trade reposts fairly. We developed innovative technology from the outset to ensure the system is not able to be gamed or abused by bad actors (e.g., accounts buying fake followers). All engagement is 100% genuine, and our (human) support team is always on hand to assist with any queries or concerns.
In contrast to most promo services, RepostExchange can be used entirely for free. RepostExchange is powered by the community so we believe it only fair that our core functionality is not locked behind a paywall. Spending extra boost or unlocking more advanced features is completely optional.
I should point out that repost campaigns are only part of what we offer. Over the six years that RepostExchange has been under development, we’ve added tools for technical and creative feedback, follower acquisition, products designed for bigger labels and PR professionals, and much more.
We are now also regularly running remix competitions, working with top labels, artists and sponsors to give our members the opportunity to work with high-quality stems of new releases and win some fantastic prizes in the process. Our current competition is in partnership with Atlantic Records and Native Instruments to remix Nathan Dawe’s latest single. Get involved!
Has RepostExchange adapted or improved itself to match the influx of artists, producers, and fans returning to SoundCloud?
The RepostExchange roadmap is constantly evolving, and we have a ton of exciting enhancements and features in the pipeline. We keep a close eye on new SoundCloud functionality and incorporate it into our own feature set wherever possible to complement and enhance the SoundCloud creator experience as a whole. As ever, we stand ready to welcome new and returning SoundCloud artists to our community!
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
