For almost a decade, SoundCloud has provided budding musicians with a great platform to showcase their skills. Note that SoundCloud is also one of the biggest indie music platforms on the internet. As a budding musician, you can directly upload your tracks to the site. In other words, you can reach the desired number of listeners without relying on a middleman.
On the other hand, SoundCloud is also a great platform for music fanatics to discover new and offbeat music which are usually nom-existent on other commercial platforms. When SoundCloud was introduced way back in 2007, it revolutionized the way of publishing music online as it was able to create a large, community-driven platform.
With SoundCloud, anyone could upload anything and fame was quick to come by if the singer had talent. One of the primary reasons why SoundCloud has its relevance is because of the presence of various disputes. From copyright infringements to some users completely losing their accounts, there have been plenty of incidents which have tarnished the image of SoundCloud over the years.
And instead of updating the user interface, the platform has the same features. So it is quite understandable that people are looking for SoundCloud alternatives.
Here are some of the SoundCloud alternatives that you should look forward to:
1. Bandcamp
In case you don’t know, Bandcamp is one of the first platforms which democratized the notion of music distribution. So as you can see, it is one of the best SoundCloud alternatives you can ever have access to. To be precise, it is a music publishing platform which has been around for a while.
Much like SoundCloud, it also caters to the interests of the indie artists. In short, it is often the most recognized alternative for SoundCloud. As a fan, you can easily stream tracks for free. But you can also buy albums or individual tracks. Though this platform, you can also donate to budding artists.
2. YungCloud
If you are a budding musician and looking forward to reach your fans directly without any middlemen, YungCloud is your best bet. The founders of YungCloud claim that it is a platform that connects talented upcoming artists with their audiences. In short, you can showcase your necessary skills in front of the larger audiences of YungCloud.
Moreover, this platform was launched recently in 2015 which makes it pretty young. What’s more, the platform of YungCloud resembles a lot like SoundCloud. So if you are a big fan of SoundCloud, you would love YungCloud too.
3. Audiomack
Audiomack has a great reputation of being a hip-hop platform. But at the same time, it is one of the most popular SoundCloud alternatives. One of the key highlights is the burgeoning popularity of this platform among music fans and producers. Moreover, Audiomack is also one of those sites which resemble a lot like the SoundCloud platform.
What’s more, you would be able to share, repost and add songs to your playlist in case you like them. What makes Audiomack stand out is its pricing structure. It is completely free without the involvement of any premium accounts. Quite impressively, the platform boasts of over five million users.
4. Spotify
Well, Spotify has managed to rise through the ranks in the recent years. We have all heard of its name when the context is about music streaming. And in case you don’t know, Spotify is a Swedish organization which allows the users to stream audio files directly into their devices.
One of the key highlights of Spotify is that it comprises large collection of audio files or music from across the world. On the other hand, you would easily access the latest songs in the market. Quite impressively, Spotify also has a free version and caters to the streaming needs of a large number of users. Being a worthy SoundCloud, you can download Spotify on Windows, Android, iOS, etc.
5. Orfium
Orfium is undoubtedly one of the rapidly rising music publishing platforms which offer talented musicians with immense capabilities. For instance, Orfium would provide musicians with direct upload along with unlimited free hosting.
Quite impressively, you also get the opportunity to sell, promote, distribute and monetize your audio albums by retaining 100% of your copyright. What this means is you would have the opportunity to avail royalties every time your music is played by users. But note that Orfium charges only 20% on your earnings which is quite impressive. But unlike SoundCloud, you don’t have to pay anything to upload your music.
6. HearThis
To be precise, HearThis describes itself as the most worthy alternative for SoundCloud. In reality, the platform does offer you with lots of features which make it a great alternative for SoundCloud. You can access feeds, profile pages along with the ability to like, comment and share the tracks.
What’s more impressive is the fact that there is a feature called maps in this platform. With the help of this feature, you would be able to keep yourself updated on the local music scenario. Impressively, HearThis would also allow you to import your SoundCloud profile into its platform. So as you can see, it is quite simpler to migrate from SoundCloud to HearThis.
7. Jamendo
Jamendo claims that it is one of the world’s largest digital platforms for free music. And since its inception on 2005, this platform has been providing free music to its followers. The primary objective of Jamendo is to connect artists and their fans from across the world. Moreover, it also strives to bring closer the world community of indie music fanatics.
As a user, you would be able to download free music from Jamendo. And even if you are an artist, you can monetize your content via Jamendo Licensing. It is important to note here that the company claims to have a community of more than 3 million members. It also has more than 50000 artists on their platform which is simply incredible.
8. Audius
You would instantly fall in love with the beautifully designed landing page when you visit Audius. And if you spend a bit more time on its platform, you have to agree that it is the perfect clone of SoundCloud. The only difference is the presence of different colors along with box shadows.
As an artist, you would have access to unlimited free uploads without any censorship with your tracks never being taken down for any reason. Furthermore, you would find no links to pricing as there is just a button to listen and another one to sign up for free of cost. The Audius website would provide you with initial impressions that it is still under the developmental phase.
However, you would face no issues while posting tracks and searching for newer albums on the platform. What’s more, you can also have access to your listening history which is a pretty cool feature. But for the time being, it does look like Audius can be a worthy alternative for SoundCloud.
9. NoiseTrade
If you are an independent musician on the lookout for fame, NoiseTrade is your ideal bet. With NoiseTrade, you will have the flexibility to upload your music creations and share your albums with fans for free. Note that the platform for budding musicians has been in existent since the last ten years.
However, if you think you would be distributing your music albums among audiences without any revenue, you are wrong. When your fans will download or listen to your music albums, they have to provide their data in from of postal zip code and email address.
10. ReverbNation
Well, ReverbNation claims that it assists budding artists to grow their influence by introducing them to leading stakeholders in the music industry. And much like SoundCloud, ReverbNation has also been in existence since quite a long period of time.
However, it primarily focuses on indie artists and also informs users about the latest happenings taking place in their locality. Moreover, this platform also strives to connect musicians with local fans. In other words, with ReverbNation, you would be able to establish a good fan following in your locality. This would provide you with the platform to advance your career.
FAQs
1. Do artists get paid from Audiomack?
Yes, you can get paid from Audiomack. Note that Audiomack pays master and composition royalties. Also, this platform has an active remuneration plan for artists through its ad-based model.
2. Is Audiomack better than SoundCloud?
Note that both Audiomack and SoundCloud are great platforms. They also offer you with the same services which exude practicality to modern users. SoundCloud is a bit more intuitive when the context is about uploading music.
3. How old is Audiomack?
Note that Audiomack was founded in 2012. So as you can see, it is not that old when compared to other platforms like SoundCloud.
4. Is it free to upload to Bandcamp?
As an artist, if you are uploading your creation to Bandcamp, it is completely free.
Key Takeaways
No doubt, SoundCloud remains as one of the preferred music publishing platforms out there. But these alternatives are a good option if you want to experience various music platforms.
