How to Make Money on SoundCloud: Complete Guide
Friday, January 29, 2021
SoundCloud is one of the best platforms for all those who are trying to make a name in the music industry. Regardless of whether one is a musician, producer, or a label, SoundCloud works for all.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits of using SoundCloud to upload your own tracks and how you can maximize the money you make money off of them.
Benefits of SoundCloud
There are multiple benefits that come with having an account on SoundCloud to promote music. One is that you do not need to create a video for your audio, which reduces the cost and work on your track.
The second benefit is that it allows artists to earn revenue from their tracks without having to use ads on their tracks, which might drive away listeners. The revenue that artists earn is based on the number of plays they get.
You can upload your music using a SoundCloud Pro Unlimited account. This account comes at $12 per month when it is billed yearly. The Pro Unlimited account allows you:
- To post unlimited uploads
- Get paid for your plays
- Provides access to audience insights
- To have access to the Exclusive Gobbler-SoundCloud suite of audio plugins
How Can You Maximise Your Revenue
In this section, we will discuss ways in which you can maximize your revenue on SoundCloud.
1. Using the Right Metadata and Tags
To maximize your revenue, you need to maximise the plays on your tracks. You can increase SoundCloud engagement by using the right metadata and tags on your uploads. The first tag that you use should be of the main genre that your music belongs to.
You can gain more SoundCloud plays in this way as this helps your tracks to be placed in the right charts. Due to this, the right audience can listen to them and share them with their friends and on social media. You can also add the mood of the song as a tag, along with related genres and artists.
Make sure your metadata is clean and contains details such as the name of the track, artist’s name, and label. Keep it easy to read and understand, and avoid adding excessive numbers or random characters to it.
2. Buy SoundCloud Plays
Another way in which you can gain more plays is by buying plays on websites such as GetViral.io, Viralyft, and SocialPackages. The more plays that you have on your tracks, the more people are attracted to them.
People tend to gravitate towards things that others also seem to like, and more number of plays gives listeners the sense that a lot of people like your music. However, it is necessary that you make your growth look organic and not falsely created by buying plays.
Always buy plays in moderation, not exceeding a few hundred at a time. Remember that these are merely meant to act as a boost for your music, and the plays on your tracks should not depend on you buying them.
- Make Use of SoundCloud Tools
You can learn about the type of audience you attract using the Insights tool provided with your SoundCloud account. Using this tool, you can know about who your audience is comprised of, and can also help you form connections with your listeners.
SoundCloud also provides Instagram integration, using which you can promote your tracks on Instagram. This proves to be highly useful, given that Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms today, with a large young population using it daily.
You can also set up a promotion on SoundCloud which can provide more exposure and audience engagement with your selected tracks. It drastically increases your tracks visibility between the duration of the promotion, depending on your budget.
- Eye-Catching Image and Description
The cover of your track should be a high-resolution image that immediately catches the attention of viewers and encourages them to listen to your track. Similarly, your description should have information such as the meaning of the track or the backstory.
Your audience will find such information deeply personal and interesting which increases audience engagement.
- Become Eligible for SoundCloud Premier
You can further improve monetisation on SoundCloud by becoming eligible as a Premier account. This provides you with faster pay-outs and a high revenue rate, along with direct engagement with your audience.
As a SoundCloud Pro or Pro Unlimited user, you can become eligible for Premier monetization if you meet the following criteria:
- You are an independent music creator, your tracks are original, and you own the rights for your tracks
- You have at least 500 eligible streams from the past month
- You have real plays, and not bots (which comes from buying plays)
- You have zero copyright strikes
- Monetizable streams on your tracks come from Europe, the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand
- You are more than 18 years old
A Premier account comes at no extra cost with a Pro or Pro Unlimited account. To get a higher pay-out, more real people need to listen to your music, so make sure you are not buying too many plays.
Using SoundCloud is a simple process as the platform has an easy-to-use interface. If you are an artist who wants to make it big in the industry, it is definitely the right one for you and can help you earn good money.