Category Archives: Community

Jami Make Your Profile Sing

You’ve uploaded some sounds, but what next? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of sharing your music & audio on SoundCloud.

Stand out and be found

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Make it easy for people to find your profile by making your username clear, correct and concise. You can edit this in your settings. Your profile image is key, too. Head to your profile, then drag and drop the image you want to showcase over your current profile image (ensuring you only upload images you have the rights for).

The more information you add in your advanced settings, the better picture you’ll provide to those who visit your page.

 

Give your sounds some context

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Make sure there’s a eye-catching artwork image for each of your uploads, not just your profile photo (again, only upload work you have the rights for). Also, try to use established genres and tags to describe your work (not something like “mysupercoolwobblebaserock”). For example, “deep house” or “post hardcore” are fine.

Don’t forget that your sound’s description can be used to go into detail about your sound, adding information like recording location, label, release, instruments and so on.

 

Share your sounds

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Now that your work is on SoundCloud, it can be played anywhere. Be sure to share your sounds with your friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and more, using our share button and widgets. Linking to your SoundCloud profile will also help your existing fans find you.

If you have more content to upload, try holding it back and spacing out your posts. This will prevent you from flooding the Stream of your followers, and will keep your profile fresh over time. If you’re low on sounds, consider reposting sounds you’re enjoying to show off your taste, and give your friends a boost. They might return the favor!

 

Find your community

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A large part of building a community, and audience, is linking up with other artists who create work that excites and inspires you. Follow bands you’re friends with, or those you relate to. It’ll help others paint a better picture of you, plus you’ll keep up to date with new uploads from your friends. For some ideas on who to follow, visit https://soundcloud.com/people, which will give you some suggestions based on what you have listened to.

Have fun!

Jane Audiobiography Round-up #6: Thank you for participating!

This is a guest post by SoundCloud Hero and musician Jared Brickman of One Hello World, based in Syracuse, New York. Follow and connect with the SoundCloud Heroes to find out more about community projects, collaborations and more.

On behalf of the SoundCloud Heroes, thanks to all the SoundClouders who took the time to tell the world (or show the world, for those of you who chose music and noise over verbiage) about who they are and what they do. With nearly 300 submissions, the #audiobio SoundCloud tag is now home to a fascinating cross-section of the community’s creators. And though our weekly roundups may be coming to a close for now, the indelible tag will always be there. Let’s continue to grow SoundCloud’s collection of sonic self-portrayals.

Here are some selections from the latest collection to get you inspired.

Though audiobios are all about distinct human existences, WildAmbience’s audiobio is all about capturing “the silence from the noise of human activity.”

Imagine sitting by a fire in the forest, having a conversation with Kai Altair, an artist who loves community and coming together through sound.

Praverb an emcee from Northern Virginia shares how he uses SoundCloud to connect with the global community. “I love the global unification that occurs through sound. I love the uplifting emotional experience that happens when I’m down. I love discovering music the same way I love being found.”

As diverse as SoundCloud’s genre-scape is, so to is the geography of its creators. Hailing from the UK, J Active delivers dynamic prose regarding his sonic philosophy.

We still welcome you to share your audiobiography: record a 90 second spoken and/or music trope and upload it with the #audiobio tag. Press play on other creators’ introductions and discover new opportunities to listen, collaborate and get inspired.

Jane Hello Heroes: Audiobiography #5: Musical soundscapes, community storytelling and more

This is a guest post by SoundCloud Hero and singer-songwriter Zefora, who is based in Portland, Oregon. Follow and connect with the SoundCloud Heroes to find out more about community projects, collaborations and more.

This past week was a diverse, creative week for the Audiobiography project. We had submissions in French, Norwegian, German and English with poetry, music, and stories galore.

Here are some highlights from this week’s set:

Bill Kirton took a fictional heroine to SoHo for dinner. She’s been dead for 160+ years. Mystery, murder, a good guy with a cellar…and his prisoners. A policeman standing on a coffee table, wearing a dress. 

Meet Ändy from Hamburg, Germany. “I’ve been born in the early 50s last century in Germany. I’m a post Rock’n Roller. Grown up with stuff like the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks and many others from the very first beginnings.”

Alisa DelTufo hails from North Bennington, Vermont, in the US to talk about her organization, Threshold Collaborative, which uses story gathering and other community engagement techniques to work towards effective community change.

Skye Milan found a way to incorporate sounds from his everyday life around the house with some dramatic dialogue between himself and his sons to create a musical soundscape that reveals more about himself than words.  From the sound of keys to ice cubes in a glass bowl, percussive elements create this unique Audiobio.

D. Murali, from Chennai, India, was a staffer at a print newspaper until a whistle-blowing incident caused his abrupt exit for speaking out against gender and racial prejudice within the organization. Hear the inspiring story that makes his Audiobio.

Keep the unique Audiobios coming. See all past recaps here. If you have uploaded one and it’s not here, send us a message at @SoundCloudHeroes. We’ll be sure to include it in the next set. We still want to hear more until the end of this month, so share your Audiobiography and have your voice heard, too. Remember to give it the “audiobio” tag to help us find it. Find out how to get involved at http://blog.soundcloud.com/2013/02/06/audiobiography.