Soundcloud question

frunobulax

frunobulax

Gak Pernah Cukup!
In the last few days I've put a few more recordings up on Soundcloud.

Likes and listens and all that shit, but I've received a couple of messages along the lines of "Great track, contact me for promos"

WTF is that all about? :confused::shrug::confused:

And what's with the avatar that says 'Buy Real SoundCloud Followers'?
 
It's one of the things that I found really discouraging over time. I always thought that I would be able to have a career in music...even if it wouldn't be as a singer then perhaps as a writer. But the way that people feel about music is so different now. It's not WORTH anything to them.

It's nice when you can lose yourself in music - when you are listening to others' music too but I really mean when playing it. That's likely very similar to meditation. I do it for me now and much of the 'music industry' and 'music scene' means nothing to me because it really did its best to destroy artists IMO.
 
rhino said:
Probably people wanting you to pay for shares so you can be famous
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Yeah. It’s people looking to sell you manipulated vanity stats (likes, plays, shares) so that your account looks popular and the algorithm thinks yr hot shit and serves you up to more people. But the algorithms on these platforms usually can tell when things have been manipulated so...

Plenty of promo services exist for Spotify as well. Even though they’re against the rules. As is paying for playlist placements. But some services will offer some other thing for sale with playlist placement just being a supposedly unrelated outcome.
 
Soundcloud is full of scammers trying to fool desperate artists out of money. Very often for bot-driven Spotify playlists, not to mention beatmakers pretending to be "producers" and other cretins like that. Always assume they're scammers and do research on them. I've been getting loads of emails from a "producer" lately who's mass mailing artists he finds on instagram, who wants to produce me. That guy clearly hasn't listened to any of my songs. :grin:

Do not ever pay for Spotify playlist "promotion". Not only is it against TOS, but Spotify has this week alone removed hundreds of thousands of songs from people who have done that.

There is no shortcut to getting real followers on Soundcloud, Spotify or other platforms. Only time, hard work and learning to use ads effectively.
Alternatively, be a 24 year old smoking hot blonde with a pair of massive tits - but that isn't an option for most of us. :lol:
 
Just report the account, block it and move on. Those messages are the soundcloud equivalent of all the sad widows emailing you about the millions they need to get rid of.
 
Dexter Inferno said:
Alternatively, be a 24 year old smoking hot blonde with a pair of massive tits - but that isn't an option for most of us. :lol:
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131052512_210050514040849_4874051900275477592_n.jpg
 
Dexter Inferno said:
There is no shortcut to getting real followers on Soundcloud, Spotify or other platforms. Only time, hard work and learning to use ads effectively.
Click to expand...

That last bit about the ads is key. Spotify, SoundCloud, etc. basically want to make sure that you only pay the right people to prop up your career vs. paying the wrong people. Instead of buttering up local promoters and flattering writers and tastemakers, DIY musicians get to navigate a world of zillions of digital gate keepers (real and illegitimate) with their hands out.

If you want to achieve something that looks like “success,” I’d say set up shop in a clearly defined genre and mine that genre and network aggressively in that genre’s fan groups and build it up from there with ads and giveaways as a steady stream of releases. With the digital scene, there’s a lot of benefit of not being too weird or too outside of established genre norms . Stick to a single image/sound/approach and focus on releasing stuff that is gonna sound right on a playlist next to other stuff in your genre. Make yourself easy to package and share.

Or prepare yourself for a lot of feedback like “I like it, but it doesn’t fit any of our playlists” or “this seems retro and modern...I don’t know what to make of it” or “what genre is this? I don’t know if our listeners will understand it” or whatever. If you get any “hey, this sounds like [iconic musician/band known for changing styles all the time and blending different sounds]” you’re probably gonna have an uphill battle.

If you are a guitarist type who wants to build an audience and rack up plays, start a hard rock/metal band that stays in one clearly defined lane. Or a shoegaze band. Or make music that can fit in on a study jams/indie coffeehouse/weekend chill out playlist with boy-girl vocals and bouncy folk pop vibes.
 
Build a career in music - hardly.

I'm just looking for a platform to be able to share my musical creations with the likes of you lot.

I had these comments pegged as scams right from the get go. First one was from a hot chick named Anya.

And I know 'promo' doesn't mean 'hot weekend in a chalet listening to my ambient mixes'.
 
Dexter Inferno said:
There is no shortcut to getting real followers on Soundcloud, Spotify or other platforms. Only time, hard work and learning to use ads effectively.
Alternatively, be a 24 year old smoking hot blonde with a pair of massive tits - but that isn't an option for most of us. :lol:
Click to expand...

Sad but true. I am amazed at how many hot female musicians there are on YouTube who are good at their instrument (but not exceptional, or even notable), and who have over 100K followers because they perform their videos in revealing clothing. Marketing is everything......
 
Peen Simmons said:
That last bit about the ads is key. Spotify, SoundCloud, etc. basically want to make sure that you only pay the right people to prop up your career vs. paying the wrong people. Instead of buttering up local promoters and flattering writers and tastemakers, DIY musicians get to navigate a world of zillions of digital gate keepers (real and illegitimate) with their hands out.

If you want to achieve something that looks like “success,” I’d say set up shop in a clearly defined genre and mine that genre and network aggressively in that genre’s fan groups and build it up from there with ads and giveaways as a steady stream of releases. With the digital scene, there’s a lot of benefit of not being too weird or too outside of established genre norms . Stick to a single image/sound/approach and focus on releasing stuff that is gonna sound right on a playlist next to other stuff in your genre. Make yourself easy to package and share.

Or prepare yourself for a lot of feedback like “I like it, but it doesn’t fit any of our playlists” or “this seems retro and modern...I don’t know what to make of it” or “what genre is this? I don’t know if our listeners will understand it” or whatever. If you get any “hey, this sounds like [iconic musician/band known for changing styles all the time and blending different sounds]” you’re probably gonna have an uphill battle.

If you are a guitarist type who wants to build an audience and rack up plays, start a hard rock/metal band that stays in one clearly defined lane. Or a shoegaze band. Or make music that can fit in on a study jams/indie coffeehouse/weekend chill out playlist with boy-girl vocals and bouncy folk pop vibes.
Click to expand...

Yep. This is spot on.
More than ever careful planning of absolutely every minute detail and targeted marketing is crucial, even as far down as the songwriting. The alternative is relying on pure luck, which is extremely rare.
 
frunobulax said:
Build a career in music - hardly.

I'm just looking for a platform to be able to share my musical creations with the likes of you lot.

I had these comments pegged as scams right from the get go. First one was from a hot chick named Anya.

And I know 'promo' doesn't mean 'hot weekend in a chalet listening to my ambient mixes'.
Click to expand...

Good :)
I was thinking more general in my initial comment. There are loads of people falling for that shit.
We're all old grumpy sceptical fuckers in here :embarrassed:
 
frunobulax said:
Build a career in music - hardly.
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When people ask me what I’m trying to accomplish with my music these days, specifically with recording, I tell them it’s a hobby that pays for itself.

I don’t record at my house. I’ll go to a studio, sell enough product to pay for that session and small run of physical copies, and usually have enough left over to trade with other bands down the road or sell at shows, when shows are a thing.
 
Denverdave said:
Sad but true. I am amazed at how many hot female musicians there are on YouTube who are good at their instrument (but not exceptional, or even notable), and who have over 100K followers because they perform their videos in revealing clothing. Marketing is everything......
Click to expand...

<starts shopping for revealing clothing>
 
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