SoundCloud or YouTube?

[satoka-eldon]

I only found out about Soundcloud after starting to upload stuff to Youtube, but I prefer not having to waste time on adding animations to a video that doesn't include real instruments.

Plus, I always feel like Soundcloud is a lot less stressful - sharing doesn't require a Twitter or Reddit account, there are no downvotes for people to troll with, and it's not the end of the world if there are some parts of a track which aren't perfect yet, because you can always go back and correct them later.

I think the two main points in Youtube's favour are (i) that for tracks with real instruments, being able to see the performer perform is a plus point - if you share with family or friends for example, it's more obvious that it's really you, and not some random share; and (ii) that it has a far larger passive userbase.

So, the question is: which site do you guys prefer for uploading music? And why?

[Jorito]

I do both. When I started out, a few years ago, I just started uploading to both of them because Soundcloud was in a bit of flux at the time when it comes to who they are, who they target and how they earn revenue and so on. Youtube is more stable in that regard, but the ocean of YT vids is massive and it's harder to get noticed. Interestingly enough, on both platforms the amount of subscribers and views are pretty similar, so I haven't seen one grow significantly more or less than the other.

I do prefer that I can edit my tracks on Soundcloud (e.g. replace the audio file), on Youtube I can't. I solved the visual part on YT by creating a template that I re-use, so it's just a matter of changing background artwork and colors mostly.

[Master Mi]

I prefer Youtube because of the better audio streaming quality (audio streaming bitrate of 128 kbit/s at Soundcloud vs 192 kbit/s at Youtube can make a noticeable difference in sound quality) and the possibility of underlining the audio material with some fitting video material (own gameplay scenes of video games for video game remixes, for example).

[satoka-eldon]

On 2018/4/12 at 7:22 PM, Jorito said:

I do both. When I started out, a few years ago, I just started uploading to both of them because Soundcloud was in a bit of flux at the time when it comes to who they are, who they target and how they earn revenue and so on. Youtube is more stable in that regard, but the ocean of YT vids is massive and it's harder to get noticed. Interestingly enough, on both platforms the amount of subscribers and views are pretty similar, so I haven't seen one grow significantly more or less than the other.

I do prefer that I can edit my tracks on Soundcloud (e.g. replace the audio file), on Youtube I can't. I solved the visual part on YT by creating a template that I re-use, so it's just a matter of changing background artwork and colors mostly.

Interesting that you've been on SC for so long! I'm also on both, but uploading different stuff - I'm always vaguely anxious about splitting views across platforms for the same tracks. The sub growth on my YT channel is a lot higher than for SC (four times more for the former), which I think is because a lot of listeners don't have accounts there. (The playcount is comparable for both, although SC is a *lot* more generous when it comes to this.)

On 2018/4/13 at 2:11 AM, Master Mi said:

I prefer Youtube because of the better audio streaming quality (audio streaming bitrate of 128 kbit/s at Soundcloud vs 192 kbit/s at Youtube can make a noticeable difference in sound quality) and the possibility of underlining the audio material with some fitting video material (own gameplay scenes of video games for video game remixes, for example).

I've read about the streaming quality issue before, and I hope it's something SC will eventually work out, although it's not a deal-breaker for me at all. (I've mostly been uploading soundfont remixes there, where the sound quality isn't great to start with.)

[Arman]

One major issue with Soundcloud is their mobile app. If you listened to your own music on the mobile app, the quality is horrible compared to the Soundcloud on your desktop or laptop. It fools you into believing that there is something wrong with the mastering. You will hear clicks and pops. Makes sharing your music over the aux at a party or friend's place humiliating. Especially if said friends are familiar with audio mastering. Youtube's mobile app does not suffer the same issue.

[Meteo Xavier]

That's strange. How or why would the Soundcloud mobile version have a drop of quality that far down? Just something wrong in the coding that distresses the audio or something?

[AngelCityOutlaw]

3 hours ago, Meteo Xavier said:

That's strange. How or why would the Soundcloud mobile version have a drop of quality that far down? Just something wrong in the coding that distresses the audio or something?

You know what's really strange? I thought you hated that picture, but now it's your avatar.

Anyway, I honestly think both are kinda crap now.

Soundcloud was great before it got rid of embedded sharing into social media like Facebook, and groups. I cannot, for the life of me figure out why they thought getting rid of groups was a good idea. There is also the fact that it is plagued with bots, or people who feign interest in your tracks and page, only to unfollow and unlike you if they don't get a follow back almost immediately...

YouTube is the superior platform in the sense that how you can present your music is a lot better. You can get great After Effects templates and all that jazz. The downside is that YouTube expands more rapidly than our own universe, and it's extremely difficult to bring in much of an audience. Worse still, is that in the last few years, Youtube has become a haven for SJWs and Neck-bearded, fedora-tipping "skeptics"; it's a political cesspool. But YouTube sides with SJWs, and as I've seen videos demonstrating, Youtube will demonetize your videos and make them harder to find even if you associate with someone who is known to disagree with their politics. Not sure if that applies to subscribers, but I doubt it.

Back around 2010 - 2013, both Soundcloud and YouTube were absolutely amazing for sharing music. Both have fallen from grace, and nothing has really risen to the challenge of filling the void.

[satoka-eldon]

On 2018/4/17 at 3:28 AM, AngelCityOutlaw said:

You know what's really strange? I thought you hated that picture, but now it's your avatar.

Anyway, I honestly think both are kinda crap now.

Soundcloud was great before it got rid of embedded sharing into social media like Facebook, and groups. I cannot, for the life of me figure out why they thought getting rid of groups was a good idea. There is also the fact that it is plagued with bots, or people who feign interest in your tracks and page, only to unfollow and unlike you if they don't get a follow back almost immediately...

YouTube is the superior platform in the sense that how you can present your music is a lot better. You can get great After Effects templates and all that jazz. The downside is that YouTube expands more rapidly than our own universe, and it's extremely difficult to bring in much of an audience. Worse still, is that in the last few years, Youtube has become a haven for SJWs and Neck-bearded, fedora-tipping "skeptics"; it's a political cesspool. But YouTube sides with SJWs, and as I've seen videos demonstrating, Youtube will demonetize your videos and make them harder to find even if you associate with someone who is known to disagree with their politics. Not sure if that applies to subscribers, but I doubt it.

Back around 2010 - 2013, both Soundcloud and YouTube were absolutely amazing for sharing music. Both have fallen from grace, and nothing has really risen to the challenge of filling the void.

I wouldn't know about the app, because SC is region-locked

The issue with bots and behaviour of users is an issue on Youtube as well. I've been a victim (lol) of following/unfollowing tactics on both platforms, and also had market-bots leave comments on YT videos. I think the audience thing applies to both platforms too though, since fewer people have SC accounts. Hard to bring in repeat listeners when fewer people are hanging around on the platform every day.

Not sure about degradation in YT though - my feeling is that the comments have always had the ability to be toxic.

Edit: something that annoys me about both platforms is the stats that are shoved in your face all the time. I don't want to see how many people have been listening over the last day or week every time I log in, thankyouverymuch. (Twitter became a lot better after I installed the Demetricator addon, and I wish it were available for more platforms natively.) /rant

[TheManPF]

I have personally used both, but I stopped using SoundCloud for years, and started uploading frequently to Youtube like a year or so ago

Both have their pros and cons, but Youtube definitely has the upperhand in reach, or at least for me, I got a lot of views and comments because of the arrangements I uploaded there, and thumbnails and entertaining visuals help

Although one difference I had while using both is that I had a lot more success with original music using Soundcloud, whereas the success I had with Youtube comes from arrangements of other music (note that when I say "success" I'm talking about a relative/moderate success). However to get people checking my Soundcloud I had to post on 4chan, and I didn't really find any other ways of promoting my page, but probably chalk that up to me being very noob-ish in promotion in general

But yeah, I think Soundcloud is a good site for original music, if you upload original music to Youtube, don't expect much people to find you, but it's still a good way to build a fanbase through the likes of arrangements and stuff, and then use it to promote yourself

My conclusion is to use both, you don't really lose anything, if you're not sure about the visuals for Youtube, it's really easy to put some basic background in Sony Vegas along with the music, more attractive visuals always help (like having yourself playing, or any picture that would attract viewers in the thumbnail), but you can easily start with that, maybe learn to do some basic effects in Adobe After Effects so you can have something moving in the video and it doesn't get too static

[AngelCityOutlaw]

1 hour ago, TheManPF said:

But yeah, I think Soundcloud is a good site for original music, if you upload original music to Youtube, don't expect much people to find you, but it's still a good way to build a fanbase through the likes of arrangements and stuff, and then use it to promote yourself

IMO promoting original music is way more difficult just in general.

 

[TheManPF]

Just now, AngelCityOutlaw said:

IMO promoting original music is way more difficult just in general.

 

Yeah I agree, but didn't enough musicians find mainstream success through Soundcloud? I'm not sure about this so correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I heard something about it somewhere

[AngelCityOutlaw]

2 hours ago, TheManPF said:

Yeah I agree, but didn't enough musicians find mainstream success through Soundcloud? I'm not sure about this so correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I heard something about it somewhere

Maybe? I'm not sure. Probably. I mean, "Soundcloud Rapper" has become a meme at this point.

But I do know a number who got famous via YouTube: Bieber, Carly Rae Jepsen, that "Karmin" duo. But they did all do covers...

You may be on to something.

[Meteo Xavier]

Trying to become "famous" is sort of a recipe for disaster, as the mindset is so pointedly focused on vanity and greed that the art (the real thing people come to look for in the first place) is almost entirely sacrificed. It also promotes an anxiety artists will get when they find out they aren't getting the fame they should, which can entirely be avoided, as well as producing the mental goalpost equivalent of Fester's Quest - one LONG, hard journey, no checkpoints.

What I recommend artists to do is take a "baby steps" kind of approach and get a more realistic version of "success" to go along with that. Build 100 checkpoints or however many you want and that can help clear the pretense, reduce anxiety, and focus more on the art. This can be done with Soundcloud and Youtube, but I recommend Youtube over Soundcloud as it's potentially easier to promote work on there (I say potentially because Google Adwords is a pain in the ass, but it does deliver some numbers, that's true).

Also, Youtube is not in any danger of closing down or being sold off like Soundcloud has been.

[Cupcom5]

Both are good to use, though I do agree that Soundcloud is a lot less stressful.