SoundCloud 101

Completing all the metadata fields when uploading to SoundCloud can be a bit intimidating, but it's one of the best ways to make sure people can find your sound (and then find out more about you!)

Overview

When you're on the upload or edit page, you'll see a bunch of fields to fill in. Here's what they each mean:

• Title: this field is required, and is just the title of the sound. If it's a song, then you probably already know the title, but if it's a recording of anything else, it's best to be descriptive here!
• Image: sound artwork will show up on the site, but also on embedded widgets, so be sure to pick something nice.
• Description: a description of the sound that will show up below the player on the sound page.
• Type: pick from the list of types, whatever you think best fits your upload.
• Genre: just put one here, so people looking for that genre can find it. Trying to squeeze in too many will make your sound harder to find.
• Tags: you can put anything you want here, and people can browse by tags on our tag explorer.
• License: select from a default of "All rights reserved," or pick one of the Creative Commons licenses.
• Record label: note that we'll try to link this with the record label if they're on SoundCloud, so you can use their username here. If it's not released by a label, it's best to leave this blank.
• Release date: you can pick it from the calendar, or enter it yourself.
• Release/catalogue number and ISRC: if you need to fill these in, you probably already know what they are. If this is a sound you're releasing yourself, you can leave these blank.
• BPM and key: these fields are important, because they can help DJs and other musicians find your sounds to sample or remix. Note that key uses enharmonics, so if your piece is in, say, G#m,you'll need to put Abm.
• Buy link: a link to where a person can buy your sound. You can also customize the way this link appears in widgets.
• Video link: a link to a relevant video, usually a music video. If you use one of the services mentioned above the field, you'll get a nice on-site player.

That's all there is to it! Now you can get to filling out all the fields and making your sounds and their info easier to find and enjoy.