Granted, my activity on Soundcloud has been sporadic at best and I've had fleeting moments of uploading tunes. More so over the last couple of months so that I can share works in progress but I'm really starting to wonder if I should continue posting there.
They have plans where you can pay to have unlimited upload time and dive into your stats but I've had an account since 2012 and their data doesn't even go that far back anymore on the stats?
As you can see from the top right, this screenshot is "all time" so it should mean EVERYTHING. I know I reached over 30,000 plays in 2018 so now it's only showing 24,800.
Seems like 2016 was the last decent year I had in terms of streams with nearly 9,000 but since then, not even come close.
What I have noticed since uploading tunes again is that the amount of bot comments I get is ridiculous. Accounts that are just set up and spam your tracks with "follow and repost to 10,000 followers", then you go on the profile and it has like 3 followers 😂
There do seem to be a couple of die hard fans on there who are absolute legends so I'll probably keep it just for them.
It is really handy to share music there though and Soundcloud does have brand recognition, albeit not as much as the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. But I can't upload works in progress on those last two, only full and finished tracks with the EAR label I co-founded.
I guess SC is a good place to share bootlegs for free download that I can't release elsewhere so it's got that going for it. I have about 20+ of those.
So I'll probably keep it ticking along and see what gives this year, if I don't get anywhere near 2016 plays then I'll re-assess!
I kind of think of it like hive and other places. It’s good to have a long standing record of your stuff for people to reference. If you hit it big one day, and I’m hoping you do!, you’ll have plenty of tracks for people to go back and check out. It could be your own ‘Deep Cuts’ I think!
Hopefully the traffic goes up man! I occasionally use sound cloud, I’ll create an account on it and give your stuff a listen. I love listening to it in the car where I have decent speakers to hear the good bass lines and stuff. Not the same from a phone or a laptop!
Thanks man! I'll just keep churning out the tunes when I can and if people like listening to them then even better! The deep cuts sounds like an awesome name for a playlist! I like it haha
Too right, you don't get the full effect through tinny phone or laptop speakers, especially when you need to hear the bass with this genre 😀
After the bears done playing, the bulls will show up. This is the case in crypto. Must be the same with SC? 😂
Something that puzzles me a bit. At HIVE we have quite a few users who share work-in-progress. I'm not a music producer of any kind, but why does an artist share not-finished work with the rest of the world? I know from my music artist fans, they may share work-in-progress, but always through private channels, never to the whole world. Anyways, that was not your Rant, that was about the Bears and Soundcloud 🙃
Hahaha yeah maybe the listeners are in a bear market too 😂
I guess for me it has a few purposes. To get feedback on whether or not the track is worth finishing, see what people think of it and get non-producer comments. What aspects people like, what might work and what doesn't as these things can be changed before sending off to final mastering.
Once I get a track mastered, I don't go back to it and change it. Ever. Only if I make a new variation on production but then I consider it a new project
Also, I like hearing how the track progresses as I work on it from the early stages and thought it would be cool to let people in to the thought processes behind the track, like behind the scenes kinda thing, for those who would be interested.
Another one might be it's accountability to finish off the tune - I post a work in progress and then work to get it finished as opposed to leaving the projects get dusty and never opened again.
Final reason, some excitement that there's something new on the way 😀
Those are some good reasons, didn't think of that 🙇
Soundcloud is kind of an anomaly in a way. I like it, but it seems like a lot of well known artists don't really take it seriously and it's a bit random.
Seems like artists in DnB are more reliant on DJ play, their own DJ gigs and getting on big YT channels like UKF etc.
It's definitely better than it was when I started producing though, back then you didn't really get any coverage unless you were in 'the big DJ friend club' or maybe through pirate stations.
I've finally overcome the issues I was having with engineering and so I'll be putting a few tracks up online soon, so I get to go through all this myself. lol. I think I'm going to focus on working with established DJs that I know to get tracks to them that they will play and go from there. Just working on 3 demos to show what I can do atm though.
Did you ever reach out to labels to work with them?
Yeah I think that's exactly it. I have reached out to a few dnb djs over the years and the smaller stations are pretty chilled out and flexible with their approach. I think you have to have a certain sound to get featured on the bigger YT channels and UKF though. I have tried to get my liquid tunes on Mr Suicide Sheep before but to no avail.
Ah yeah I remember you were focusing on your productions a bit more, looking forward to hearing them once you upload them. I guess on Soundcloud haha!
There is one label I'm going to reach out to but I will need to catch up with my former DJ partner on Platform Project as it's been over a year since I last did a show and he's moved on to a bigger online station so could be a good avenue to do a guest mix for. Cubapl reached out to me as well for a mix on here so will blow the dust off thr decks. @dnbpromo has also set up his own network of dnb DJS last year.
Vibes bro thanks for the mention been a way for a lil bit but hoping to get back on this more often plz feel free to use the Drum n Bass Community for all things dnb related its still bit quiet but a nice place to hang out for some vibes ;)
Yeah, having the right sound is key.. though the more I improve my engineering and production, the more I realise that quite big parts of it are actually engineering based rather than art based. So by combining specific engineering techniques with the right aesthetic, you can still be creative in your own way but also fit in with the other tracks the DJs are playing. I can't really speak too much atm though as I haven't even tried to make this work in the real world yet. lol
Having listened/watched some of the newer big names in DnB, it seems like they often don't really know as much as a lot of people who have been around a lot longer and who haven't had success.. They just approach things differently and really pay attention to dancefloor mechanics, looking to match their music to the audience.
I've got 3/4 tracks that I've started in the last couple of months that are decent sounding and that I can finish.. they are all different vibes and sounds.. Going to put a fair bit of time into them until they're done instead of creating any more unfinished ones. Every time I make one it's an improvement, so I just keep going without finishing anything - but I'm at the point where the quality is high enough to make it worthwhile finishing them. :)
I've made contact with some smaller labels recently, with decent quality tracks - but not so well known yet. I'll let you know if I meet anyone that might want to promote your sound. Can you point me to the best, recent examples of your tracks in case I can pass them on?
Yes I think you're right as I've noticed that even with Spotify, the algo has found tracks that are all engineered the same way with sound production, even though they do have different vibes about them.
I guess I'll just need to watch a load of tutorials to get my production to that level if it's something I want to pursue but I'm happy enough with the tunes I have made. They do sound different to others and stand out a bit more when I've done DJ mixes in the past, which is cool and makes it unique.
That's awesome man! I know how you feel there and I always think it's better to finish off projects as it's always good practice for the next tune. With each tune, you progress your own skills. Probably why I've gone back to a lot of older tunes that were never finished and give them a 2022 lick of paint!
Thanks for that - are those drum & bass labels? I've got contacts with labels like Soul Deep and still friends with the Platform Project.
If you're on Twitter, I can send you a DM of a secret Soundcloud playlist of my latest material that I intend on releasing soon - Space Adventure EP :)
I've spent so much time making music and there's so much fun to be had getting into the social side of things, it doesn't make sense for me to not aim to merge them and actually perform out or at least get my tracks played out. There's still space for finding our own sound while fitting in enough to get played out. Once you get a name then you get to DJ and you call the shots.. Then you can play your extended Banjo Solos if you want and no-one can stop you! haha.
Yes, I'm only intending to deal with DnB labels.
thanks!Sure, you can reach me at https://twitter.com/ura_soul
I've had some amazing times meeting with fellow dnb heads, conversations can last for hours. Last time I had a decent night out at Liquicity, spending time with some DJs and music producers would have been in 2017! Need to sort that, probably means spending less time on Hive!
Lol! Now you've given me ideas to remix Swamp Thing 😁
I'll send you a message on Twitter!
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