The music streaming world has seen a lot of changes over the last few years. Long gone are the days when you had to search for albums in iTunes, or scroll through endless playlists on Pandora. Today, we have apps like Spotify, Apple Music. Now even YouTube Red that make it easier than ever to find new music that’s right for you. Of course, not every artist can afford to pay for these services. Many of us prefer using free platforms like SoundCloud or Band camp instead. So which is best? Let’s look at some of the key differences between these three major services before making our final decision.
User Experience
SoundCloud is better for discovering new music.
SoundCloud is better for discovering new artists.
SoundCloud is better for discovering new playlists.
SoundCloud is better for discovering new tracks and albums (and remixes thereof).
Content Quality
The sound quality of both services is excellent. The default music on Spotify has clear bass and treble, with no distortion at higher volumes. Organic Soundcloud promotion also has very low-latency audio, which means you don’t have to wait for the song to play before it’s ready for playback.
Music Discovery
Spotify has a bigger library, which means more music to choose from. The number of songs on Spotify’s main page is increased by over 50 percent when compared to SoundCloud’s. This makes it easier for you to find new artists and listen through their entire catalogs.
Spotify also offers better recommendations when using the “Discover” tab in its mobile app (or desktop version). When they’re shown here, they include genres that are not featured on the main page. But are related to your favorite artists’ work or other tracks in your library. Which helps keep things interesting! They also offer a variety of playlists created by users themselves. These can be shared with friends via SMS text messages or Facebook Messenger via voice commands.
Social Features
SoundCloud has a better social platform. With Spotify, you have to share your music with the world on their own platform. This can be done through Twitter or Facebook but it doesn’t feel like SoundCloud is built for that purpose. Organic Soundcloud promotion lets artists create accounts just for themselves. Then share content through those channels instead of forcing them into another space where they’ll feel out of place (like Facebook).
SoundCloud also offers more features than Spotify when it comes to connecting with fans outside of sharing music. Comment sections on songs; chat rooms; live streams; etc.; these features help build community around an artist who may not even be famous yet!
Pricing
SoundCloud is free to use, but if you want the full experience, there are several paid plans available.
- The Basic plan gives you unlimited uploads and downloads per month. Allows for up to five profiles in your account at any time (you can add more profiles once you reach this limit). You can also subscribe to specific genres or tracks of music as part of your plan.
- The Pro plan allows for unlimited uploads and downloads per month as well as enhanced features such as lyrics integration. Song recommendation engines and auto tagging tools (the last two are only available on premium accounts).
SoundCloud is better for artists seeking to promote their music. But Spotify beats it in terms of content quality and social features.
The user experience on SoundCloud is far superior to Spotify’s. You can see who’s listening to your tracks and get direct messages from them if you want. That’s just one of the many ways that organic Soundcloud promotion has improved upon its competitor. The platform also offers exclusive content from major labels like Sony Music and Universal Music Group. Which gives artists an opportunity to connect with fans through exclusive deals or contests (like Record Store Day).
But while these perks may be valuable for some musicians looking for exposure outside of their own homespun shows at local bars or clubs. They’re not necessary if all you need is something simple enough for anyone else in your town who owns an iPhone. Free access via any internet connection anywhere on Earth as long as they have data plans with at least 2 GB per month (that means most Americans will qualify).
Conclusion
Soundcloud is a great music sharing platform, but Spotify wins out in terms of content quality and social features. This isn’t an easy decision: both services offer free accounts, so you can try them out for yourself. One thing is certain though if you’re an artist looking to promote your work on the web or in other media. Outlets such as radio or TV stations. Soundcloud is probably the better choice for now.”
