It looks like SoundCloud may be on its last legs. Rumors about the company’s financial problems have picked up in recent weeks with some suggestions saying that the company doesn’t even have enough cash to get through the next two months. The service’s popularity among up-and-coming musicians as well as music fans has apparently not translated into a lot of monetary success. Chance The Rapper Tweeted that he was working “on the SoundCloud thing” but unless Chance pulls through with a huge influx of money for SoundCloud, it looks like the company is simply killing time until they are forced to close their doors for good.
This may be upsetting news for users of SoundCloud, both creators and consumers. Luckily, there are plenty of SoundCloud alternative sites that are ready to step up and fill in the void left by the company. Losing SoundCloud will certainly be a tough loss for many people, but hopefully these services can help soften the blow.
YouTube
When you think of YouTube you probably think of video. Really, YouTube is so much more than just video. Countless artists have shared their music with and without accompanying videos. Some artists simply choose to post a still image in place of video so that listeners can still enjoy their music. Plus, there’s little chance that YouTube is going to die off anytime soon. After losing SoundCloud, I’m not sure we can take another major streaming loss right away. Our hearts need time to heal.
Much like SoundCloud, YouTube offers uploaders the ability to share content for free. Cost is a huge hurdle for small artists looking to get their name out there and YouTube helps remove that barrier. A free, stable service like YouTube deserves top spot in our SoundCloud alternative sites list.
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is another name that music fans and musicians should recognize. The service has been around for several years and gives artists a lot of options for getting their music to their fans (or soon-to-be fans). There is the added benefit of being able to sell merchandise on Bandcamp which opens up another revenue option for artists and provides fans with more ways to support their favorite artists.
One of the most appealing features of Bandcamp for both fans and musicians is that the money spent by listeners on the site goes directly to the artist they support with only a small cut taken by Bandcamp. So, for example, if a user wants to buy an artist’s new album for $25, $20 of that purchase will go directly to the artist. Users can feel good knowing that the money they spend is supporting the artists they actually enjoy rather than going into a pool and being distributed to all artists or being taken by Bandcamp. All of these factors make Bandcamp a perfect choice when searching for SoundCloud alternative sites.
Audiomack
If I had to pick one of my favorites to replace SoundCloud, it would be Audiomack. The site is clean and well-designed. Every single feature seems to be very well-thought-out and serves to help drive more listens to related tracks and artists. I know design is kind of a subjective thing but I actually think Audiomack looks and feels nicer than SoundCloud. Audiomack also seems to have found a similar niche as SoundCloud that offers both music streaming capability as well as an active community. Other SoundCloud alternative sites haven’t found that balance or simply aren’t seeking to try and fill that kind of need for users.
Really, the only thing Audiomack lacks in comparison to SoundCloud is popularity. If SoundCloud shuts down then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Audiomack immediately jump in to take over as top dog.
Yung.Cloud
After raving about the wide range of awesome features on Audiomack, I’m going to pivot hard here. Yung. Cloud is almost the complete opposite. It’s a stripped-down, minimalist streaming site. There’s really not much to see here but tracks and artist info. That may be appealing to some while other’s dislike the layout. Yung.Cloud has clearly taken some inspiration from SoundCloud. The artist pages look nearly identical, for example.
The service has struggled to gain popularity which could very likely be due to its similarities to SoundCloud. However, if SoundCloud ends up kicking the bucket then Yung.Cloud could easily become one of the most popular SoundCloud alternative sites.
Suggestions?
That’s just a quick look at some of the top SoundCloud alternative sites. Of course there are plenty of other sites which could help to fill in the void left by SoundCloud. DatPiff, Reverbnation, and Clyp.It all get honorable mentions. Is there a SoundCloud alternative site you think we should check out? Comment below and let us know! What do you love about it? What could be improved?
