SoundCloud remains one of the most impactful places to distribute your music as a musician. Independent artists and adventurous listeners flock to the platform thanks to its democratized distribution and ease of discovering new work.
If you're trying to put your entire album on the SoundCloud app, you've come to the right place. Below, we'll walk you through exactly how to make an album on SoundCloud so that you can provide listeners with the full experience of your art.
What is Considered a SoundCloud Album?
According to SoundCloud , albums are playlists that have been marked as albums in the Metadata tab during the uploading process. You can put as many tracks as you'd like in your SoundCloud album, though there are some general expectations under the label "album" as discussed below. By marking the playlist as "album" on SoundCloud, it will appear under the corresponding tab on your profile.
How Many Songs are in an Album Vs. an EP?
Anyone in the music industry should know that the classification of any particular project comes down to track number. An album is generally considered 7 or more tracks in a project, while an EP (which stands for extended play) is 6 or fewer. This classification comes from physical record limitations. Vinyl pressings are limited by the physical space presented on the record itself.
In today's age, some may argue that the album classification vs. EP vs. mixtape has more to do with marketing than anything else.
As far as a SoundCloud album is concerned, you can put up to 500 tracks per SoundCloud playlist, so you shouldn't have any trouble curating your release accordingly even if you're on the longer side.
How Much Does it Cost to Release an Album on SoundCloud?
SoundCloud has several plans for artists as outlined here . You can start with the free plan which includes up to 3 hours of audio uploaded to SoundCloud for free. However, you can also consider either of the paid Artist and Artist Pro tiers which provide additional features including broad distribution to other platforms like Spotify. The Artist Pro tier also has an unlimited upload limit, so that you can upload beyond the 3-hour limit of other tiers.
In short, it doesn't cost anything to release an album on SoundCloud, but you might have to sign up for one of the paid tiers to unlock all of the features which may be of interest.
Creating an Album on SoundCloud in Two Steps
Creating an album on SoundCloud is simple. Once you have the appropriate files, use these two steps to upload and create your SoundCloud album:
- Make a Playlist . Assuming you've signed up for a SoundCloud account, the next step is to create an empty playlist named the title of your album. You can then proceed to upload your tracks by clicking the "upload" button. You can upload multiple tracks at once.
- Upload Tracks and Confirm Playlist Type. While uploading your tracks, make sure you set each song to your designated playlist. Once the tracks have been uploaded successfully, navigate back to your playlist preferences. From there, navigate to "playlist type" and select "album" accordingly.
That's it! You officially set up your SoundCloud album for listeners. Don't forget to take the time to fill out other important metadata about your track, including genre, name, and controls within the permissions tab.
Important Considerations
Here are a couple of important considerations to keep in mind when you're uploading across your SoundCloud account:
Copyright
If you're releasing through a record label or specific distributor, you might have to obtain certain permissions to upload directly to SoundCloud. Just note that files that do not align with SoundCloud's copyright policy will be muted or potentially removed.
Private vs Public
If you're uploading your album before the release date, make sure that you're setting your tracks to be private before then so that you don't accidentally publicize your music. Fortunately, SoundCloud allows you to select a specific release date when uploading your tracks to streamline this part of the process.
Uploading Files on Desktop Vs App
Keep in mind that the upload process for creating a SoundCloud album varies depending on whether you upload on desktop or using the SoundCloud mobile app. While it's definitely possible to upload an album using the mobile app, we recommend uploading multiple files via a desktop web browser to avoid any confusion when setting up your release.
What Audio Specs Should I Use to Upload Files to SoundCloud?
When you create albums on SoundCloud, you want to retain as much quality as possible. Therefore, the platform recommends uploading SoundCloud albums in a lossless format like WAV, FLACC or AIFF. Ideally, opt for a bit depth of 16 and upload at 48 kHz (though 44.1 kHz will probably do fine as well).
How Do I Distribute My Music Beyond SoundCloud?
You can use SoundCloud to distribute your music to a select number of platforms like Apple Music and Spotify at additional cost. For more coverage, you can use a traditional independent distribution site like Distrokid, TuneCore, or CD Baby. We compare and contrast some of these services here . Most of these distributors offer a similar level of distribution coverage, but each has its own price point and perks.
How Should I Promote My SoundCloud?
Distribution on SoundCloud is just the beginning. The real work starts once you've released your album and have to start marketing your music far beyond your SoundCloud profile. It's true that to get love, you might need to give love. That means taking the time to be an active community member on the SoundCloud platform.
Set aside time to explore, listen, and comment on other people's tracks. Make a point to discover new music on SoundCloud and use those discovery pathways to help inform how you market your own music.
It's also a good idea to market yourself across social media to draw listeners in to your SoundCloud. Use a link in bio tool or direct links to lead potential fans directly to your new album.
Creating Albums on SoundCloud is Easy
Whether you decide to opt for a more extensive paid SoundCloud distribution plan through their Artist or Artist Pro Plans, it's easy to create an album on SoundCloud for free. Have fun getting your music out to listeners!
