Author Archives: David

David Record, Edit, and Publish Your Sounds On-the-Go

Today we released a major update to our mobile apps!

Our mobile apps let anyone record and share sounds on the go, and (just quietly) we think they’re pretty great. But we’ve spent a lot of time understanding how you use them to record everything from interviews to rehearsals, and worked hard to deliver a killer set of features that put even more power in your hands.

Pause for thought

We’ve added Pause & Resume so that recordings can be started, stopped and continued as many times as needed. This is great for recording longer segments of audio, or working around interruptions.

The essence of your sound

With the new trim feature, you can capture the essence of a sound by correcting mistakes and cutting unwanted sections from your recordings. Any time the recording is paused, simply drag the sliders in from the edges of the waveform to trim your sound down to the part you want to keep. If something interrupts your sound recording, it’s now simple to remove the offending section and continue the recording.

Trim is also useful when you’re waiting for a special moment (e.g. an announcement, the chimes of a bell, the roar of a crowd when a point is scored at a sports game, etc.). You can now start a recording and leave it running until the special moment occurs, then trim away the rest, leaving the most relevant sound ready for sharing.

Broadcast journalist Neal Augenstein, who exclusively uses his phone to record and edit his work, had a sneak preview of these new features and had this to say about them:

“So far I’m digging the new SoundCloud iPhone app. The trimming feature is (not surprisingly for SoundCloud) well thought out, and easy to use. They keep improving the product, making it easier for me to do my job.”

Fade in, Fade out on Android

Android users can take advantage of a useful new fade in/out filter… apply this effect to loud recordings to achieve a smoother start and ending.

Forgotten your earphones? Introducing Private Listening…

On the iPhone, we added a feature we call ‘Private Listening’: when you’re playing sounds through the loudspeaker, simply hold the handset up to your ear as if you were taking a phone call and the audio will be re-routed to the phone speaker. Private listening is ideal for listening to private messages, or for sneaking a listen to some great new sounds without letting others know what you’re hearing.

If you already have the SoundCloud app installed, you will be able to update it today. If not, what are you waiting for? You can download it from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

David Tea(m) Time with Luke Leighfield

It is Friday again, that means it is time for our weekly employee interview series that we have dubbed “Tea(m) Time”! Today, help us welcome Luke Leighfield to our team in Berlin!

On Thursday afternoon Luke and I chatted about his SoundCloud story, why he loves Berlin and what his favorite sounds are! Hear his full interview below and continue scrolling for his favorite sounds.

Specifics: Luke Leighfield, Community Support Specialist, originally from England

Fun Fact: Started using SoundCloud in 2009

Likes: Movies, reading books, eating kebabs, passionate about – justice issues, cats, memes, GIFS

Favorite tour stops: Berlin, Germany, Sweden

Does not like: Reggae

Favorite thing about SoundCloud: Nice people, fresh fruit, tempting beer

 Here are some of Luke’s favorite sounds:

You can follow Luke on the Internetz here: http://soundcloud.com/lukeleighfield

If you want to join Luke in Berlin or SF and get your own Tea(m) Time, check out our job openings here!

David Tea(m) Time with Hema Manickavasagam

It is Friday again, that means it is time for our weekly employee interview series that we have dubbed “Tea(m) Time”! Today, help us welcome Hema Manickavasagam to our team in Berlin!

On Tuesday, Hema and I sat under the big tree infront of SoundCloud’s second office in Berlin. We chatted about Hema’s love of exploring, how she got introduced to SoundCloud and I learned that her favorite word is “ice-cream.” Hear her full interview below!

Specifics: Hema Manickavasagam, based in San Francisco, from India, product manager.

Passions: Exploring, reading, watching movies, walking around cities, taking photos, sketching.

Favorite place in Berlin so far: Karl-Marx-Allee.

Favorite sound: The Ocean.

Favorite word: Ice cream!

Best things about SoundCloud: Company culture, developers, WE Hack.

Hema’s favorite sounds on the ‘Cloud:

“The first is a reading of one of my favorite short stories by an Israeli author, Etgar Keret. The second is a band from Berkeley, the Fish Tank Ensemble. And the last is a classical Opera.”

You can follow Hema on the Internetz here: http://soundcloud.com/digitalcowgirl

If you want to join Hema in Berlin or SF and get your own Tea(m) Time, check out our job openings here!