Yearly Archives: 2019

SoundCloud Celebrating the 200 millionth track uploaded to SoundCloud: Francesca Lombardo’s “Eye Ring”

Photo of Francesca Lombardo by William Worrell (http://www.williamoliverworrell.com/)

Meet Francesca Lombardo – a London-based DJ and classically-trained vocalist who has performed at IMS Dalt Vila, Burning Man and Tomorrowland and is dropping her debut album, “Life of Leaf” on February 15th. Her genre-transcending talents are the main reason you should stream her latest release, but here’s another big one: her single, “Eye Ring,” is the 200 millionth track uploaded to SoundCloud. That’s 200 million uploads…that have launched careers, created movements and resulted in what SoundCloud is today: the most diverse community of creators and catalog of music that exists nowhere else.

Although uploading the 200 millionth track is seemingly lottery-level random, “Eye Ring” is actually a prime example of the boundary-pushing content that SoundCloud is known for. The track is tagged #dance, but it’s so much more than that: it’s a mash-up of all the sounds Lombardo loves. It opens with piano notes and lush vocals; strings sneak in and gently support and sway the melody like a hammock. At 1:35 the beat pounds in like a heartbeat through a stethoscope, creating a classical-contemporary result that both Enya and Robyn would approve of.

We were able to sit down with Lombardo last week and find out more about this artist who blurs the lines of dancefloor and dreamscape, who didn’t let a studio fire (like actual fire) stop her from recording this track, and who has amassed nearly 50K followers on SoundCloud. To distill it down to the bones, she kept creating and she never gave up. So who knows? Maybe our next big milestone will be your next upload.

Read on to get to know all of the sides of multi-disciplinary artist Francesa Lombardo, and stream “Eye Ring” below.


Tell us about the track “EyeRing”?

The track is mostly a combination of all the sounds I love, drawing upon all my musical influences from an early age up to now. From the string arrangements to my choice of lyrics, “Eye Ring” helped me reconnect with what music composition means to me and it felt right making it the first song on my album.

What was the writing / recording process for “Eye Ring” …your creative process in general?

Once I had written the initial idea and structure for “Eye Ring,” I worked with my friend Andrew Waterworth on the kinds of string arrangements that I wanted to run throughout the track. We recorded these with some very talented players in London. Unbelievably, during these sessions while we were out for lunch, the studio caught on fire with all of our instruments inside; the fire brigade turned up while we waited outside in the cold and thankfully nothing was damaged. We recorded the rest of the strings in the thick leftover smoke!

How have you built up a following using SoundCloud?

I’ve worked hard to keep a steady release of music over the years, across other labels and my own, as I always want my fans to come back to something new. SoundCloud is also a great place to archive my mixes, radio shows and remixes that have happened over the years, which I think gives a good representation of how I have evolved and what I do as an artist across my various projects.

What are your plans for 2019 and beyond?

The album comes out this Friday, February 15, 2019; we have some launch parties planned and some initial live shows in the works across the globe. Of course, I will continue to DJ and release music – and I’m already working on tracks for the next album.

SoundCloud Meet six Grammy nominees who were first on SoundCloud

H.E.R., one of this year’s Grammy nominees who got her start on SoundCloud.

When you upload a track on SoundCloud, there’s no telling where it can take you. And for Anderson .Paak, Ella Mai, GoldLink, H.E.R., Post Malone and Sofi Tukker, it might just be the Grammys stage on Sunday night. While their respective routes to the top (read more on those below) are unique, they do share two things in common: their musical journeys started on SoundCloud – and now they’re all contenders for the most coveted honor in music.

As the only place you can share your music with the world, connect with fans, collaborate with other artists and make money from your craft, it’s not surprising that many Grammy nominees over the years first launched on SoundCloud. And although we can’t give you a surefire recipe for taking home a gilded gramophone, our creator subscription SoundCloud Pro gives you everything you need to make a career in music. With more upload time, advanced stats, and access to our direct monetization program SoundCloud Premier – you’ll be even closer to creating that next breakout hit.

Want even more inspiration to turn your beats into award-winning streams? Listen to our “SoundCloud at the 2019 Grammys” playlist to get acquainted with these Grammy contenders, and hear for yourself: what’s next in music is first on SoundCloud.

Anderson .Paak tested the waters.

Before uploading under his own name, Anderson .Paak released several projects on the platform under the pseudonym Breezy Lovejoy.

First upload on SoundCloud: “Venice” in 2014

Ella Mai found her agent.

Ella’s current agent discovered her on SoundCloud and became hooked after hearing “She Don’t,” from the DJ Mustard-produced “Troubled” EP.

First upload on SoundCloud: “Troubled,” her first solo EP in 2015

GoldLink did his research.

GoldLink listened to progressive producers like Kaytranada, LAKIM and Ta-ku, wrote to their beats, shared freestyles for free and networked with fellow creators – helping him get requests for live shows before even having music available to purchase.

First upload on SoundCloud: “Electric Relaxation,” a Ta-ku beat he rapped over, in 2013

H.E.R. created a persona.

H.E.R., an acronym for Having Everything Revealed, counts Alicia Keys as a mentor and was signed to RCA at the tender age of 14. The mysterious singer kept her image hidden until fans connected her cover of Drake’s “Jungle,” to her original SoundCloud profile under her name, Gabi Wilson.

First upload on SoundCloud: A cover of Drake’s “Jungle” in 2015

Post Malone racked up the plays.

In under the first six months of sharing, “White Iverson” amassed over 6 million plays on the platform, getting the attention of record labels and propelling his career.

First upload on SoundCloud: “White Iverson” in 2015

Sofi Tukker scored an ad deal.

Shortly after sharing “Drinkee,” a music supervisor for a brand discovered their track on SoundCloud and ended up using it for an advertisement, placing the duo into the spotlight.

First Upload on SoundCloud: “Drinkee” in 2015

SoundCloud Introducing the ability to control and download your high quality audio – only with Go+

Starting today we’re introducing new high quality audio features to your Go+ subscription so you can experience tracks in high quality as they were meant to be heard – on the go and without compromising your data plan.

With high quality audio downloads you’ll be able to connect closer to a creator’s sound and vision, wherever you are. Stream high quality tracks when you’re in a service-free zone or have no access to WiFi by going to Settings > Downloads and selecting Download high quality audio. In an instant, you’ll be able to download content encoded in 256kbps AAC and on your way to experiencing the best possible sound anywhere, anytime.

We’re also adding the ability for you to set your listening on cruise control. In your Settings, you’ll find the option for Automatic under Streaming quality. Once you manually opt-in, we automatically adjust the audio quality based on your connection. So if you’re on WiFi, you’ll hear tracks that are high quality. And if you’re using your cellular connection, we’ll save you the trouble – and data – and switch you back to Standard streaming.

A few months ago we introduced high quality audio streaming to Go+ subscribers – and with the ability to download and auto-switch your streaming quality, you’re now able to listen on a higher level, with even more control. In addition to unlimited downloads, when you upgrade to Go+ you can get ad-free listening to music you can’t find anywhere else, like remixes, DJ sets and exclusive tracks, making it easier than ever to discover and stream what’s next in music.