SoundCloud 101

"SoundCloud allowed JLS and Olly Murs to connect with their fanbases on a personal level. The simplicity of the app enabled ease of recording and sharing voice messages wherever, whenever; instantly getting the very latest news directly from the artist to the fans" Katie Ray, Modest Management

SoundCloud is a platform for sharing sounds, made easy with the SoundCloud record app, and utilising an artist's voice opens a lot of potential for unique engagement with fans. This 101 is here to give you tips and ideas on what sounds you can be sharing to engage with your fan base.

Audio Announcements

When heading out on tour or releasing a new album, why not record your own audio announcement and share it across your social networks. Take a look at this example from Fitz and The Tantrums, they geo-targeted Facebook posts showcasing their audio announcements...

Audio Diaries

Documenting your life can be made easy by using the SoundCloud record button on the iPhone, iPad and Android apps. Record your message and check in at your location by sending a quick audio push! Check out this audio tour diary from YACHT...

Audio Q&A

Give something personal back and communicate directly to your fans! Encourage fans to send you their messages via Twitter or Facebook, then record audio responses, linking to the original questions. Emmy The Great answered fans' Christmas Dilemmas and posted her audio replies across her social networks...

Audio Commentary

With any release there is always a story behind a track. Record an audio commentary to your music and begin to tell the story behind your music. Here is Dry The River talking about their new release with an audio commentary explaining each of the tracks on the album...

Audio Fun

Show fans a sneak peek into your life as an artist. Have some audio fun like Madonna and M.I.A recording audio messages for Nicki Minaj’s brithday or John Mayer playing on his new lapsteel. Use your own creativity and share it with your fans...

Get vocal with Third Party Apps

Find new ways to connect with with your fans by checking out SoundCloud Labs; here you’ll find innovative and easy to use apps to help you do just that!

Are you a fan of Instagram? Add even more interactivity to your snaps by recording an audio story to go alongside them! Just go to Storywheel to connect your Instagram and SoundCloud profiles. SoundCloud CEOs Alex and Eric show you how to start narrating with this retrospective look at the history of SoundCloud...

Location, Location, Location!

With our foursquare integration and being able to show your location how about visualising your audio content on a map? Using Audio Maps from SoundCloud Labs you can create an audio map pulling in content from SoundCloud via a keyword. So may it be as an artist on tour creating audio content to share with fans from each venue, or allowing fans to share content around a certain theme, use Audio Maps to visualise the location of your sounds. Here is how Dine Alone Records used an Audio Map at SXSW to share audio interviews with their artists playing in Austin.

Pick up the phone!

Encourage your fans to get involved in creating audio. SoundCloud Importer is another Labs project that allows fans to submit audio to your cause. Foo Fighters used SoundCloud Importer to create a phone number that their fans could ring to submit their thoughts on why they loved the video for ‘Walk’. These audio messages were then curated and showcased on the band’s SoundCloud profile -

These are just a couple of examples of what SoundCloud offers to get your voice heard. What better way to connect an artist with their fanbase than through the power of Voice! If you want to learn more about how easy it is to create sounds, take a look at our Audio Push 101.