SoundCloud Promotion: Does This Help Your Tracks?

Even if you make great music, your tracks may not get the plays they deserve. To help with this, you can buy extra impressions from SoundCloud directly. However, there are other SoundCloud promotion tips that could also help you. In this article, we’ll show you how to promote your music to new audiences on SoundCloud.

A person listening to music on a phone showing the SoundCloud logo.

What Is SoundCloud Promotion?

SoundCloud’s paid Promote feature lets you get more plays on any track. You can even choose who in your audience you’d like to target. The platform will show your song at the top of their home page. However, this feature is currently only available to creators with a Next Pro plan.

When you share tracks with a much wider audience, you can find lifelong fans. This promise is a key reason why artists promote their tracks. However, does this lead to long-term growth? Or is it simply one tool in an artist’s overall plan?

Your promotion strategy should cover many bases. Beyond using Promote, you must also share your tracks far and wide. Building up your many online platforms helps you unify your marketing as an artist. Engaging with other artists is also a great way to boost your profile.

How To Promote Music on SoundCloud Step-by-Step

The platform’s actual Promote feature is quite easy to use. You can set up a marketing strategy for individual songs and even albums. Here’s how to put together a Promote campaign:

  1. On the SoundCloud Promote page, tap Promote a Track.
  2. Fill in the details about your campaign, including a name.
  3. Pick the track (or tracks) you want to reach more people.
  4. Select your audience via Simple or Advanced Targeting.
  5. Fine-tune your campaign’s scale to match your budget.
  6. Choose a suitable date range for your track’s campaign.
  7. Confirm the campaign, and wait for new plays to come in.

Spend as much time as you can refining the campaign’s details. You don’t have a chance to edit this once it’s live. Even when the track’s on a person’s front page, you still need to get their attention. Your music has to make a great first impression, even with the app’s help.

SoundCloud will flag your song with a Promoted Track tag. People will know right away that you paid to boost it. This could turn them away from clicking on it. However, it still gets your music in front of people who would otherwise never see it.

A microphone next to a computer showing an audio editing app.

Can You Get Free SoundCloud Promotion?

Currently, SoundCloud’s built-in promotion is a paid feature. You could adapt the costs to fit your budget, but this massively limits your options. For example, a music promotion using advanced audience targeting costs more than simple targeting.

By default, the simple promotional model charges you $10 for every 1,000 impressions. There is also a $25 minimum spend. This means even the most basic campaign could secure 2,500 new impressions. However, this doesn’t include the Next Pro subscription’s monthly $8 fee.

There are no tools to freely boost your tracks. However, you can still learn how to promote music on SoundCloud through SEO and other tricks. This helps people discover your tracks on their own merits — and without the Promoted Track tag.

If you find a service that offers free promotion, be careful. This could be someone trying to steal your account or flood it with bots.

A person editing and listening to music while writing notes.

Is SoundCloud Promotion Worth It?

With a $25 investment for less than 3,000 impressions, this is a good question to ask. However, the Promote feature can still help your music grow. Here are the benefits you can see when you promote SoundCloud tracks:

  • Better targeting: You can tweak the campaign to find people in your target demo. If you do this right, everyone who hears the track will match your campaign goals.
  • More resonance: Adlucent’s research shows that most people prefer personal ads. Your music will reach people who know it’s their style, helping you earn new fans.
  • Find industry leaders: SoundCloud is full of experts from all over the music industry. If they hear (and like) your latest music, this could change your career.
  • Monetization: It’s possible to monetize your tracks and get royalties from them. With the right campaign, you might be able to make back the promotion budget.
  • Feedback opportunities: You could promote unfinished tracks to hear more listener feedback. This helps you grow as an artist and figure out your music’s overall direction.
  • More engagement: Looking more generally, promoting your tracks will hopefully lead to more likes. This lets you grow your network and even find possible collab partners.
  • Keep up with others: SoundCloud is, above all else, a space for independent artists. The Promote feature lets small indie artists keep up with the site’s big names.

Simple vs. Advanced SoundCloud Targeting

With SoundCloud’s marketing campaigns, you can pick between Simple or Advanced targeting. Simple is cheaper, but you have fewer options to choose from. This means your track might end up reaching people who aren’t interested.

Simple targeting lets you pick which countries to advertise your track in. It also lets you connect with fans of your genre and anyone using certain devices. You could boost a song to hyperpop fans with an Android phone in the US, for example.

Advanced targeting, however, also includes a user’s gender, age, state, and even city. The latter two options are especially useful for breaking into your local music scene. Alternatively, you can target people in entirely different countries who like your music.

If you have a decent budget, Advanced campaigns make more sense. However, is SoundCloud promotion worth it at this higher price? Even a few thousand views make a big difference when they come from your target audience.

A GoRead.io screenshot of SoundCloud’s desktop sharing options.

Sharing Your Music on Other Platforms

You can’t just keep your promotional plan to SoundCloud. A lot of the platform’s traffic is actually from casual listeners. Many of them don’t even have an account. This means linking your tracks on other platforms is essential. It’s also a good way to get free SoundCloud promotion.

Here’s how to share your SoundCloud music from the desktop site:

  1. On the track, simply click the Share button.
  2. Tap the icon for your social media of choice.
  3. Write a post for that platform and share it.
  4. Alternatively, select the link and right-click.
  5. Press Copy and paste the link on another site.

Currently, the in-built sharing options only extend to X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest. For other social media platforms, you must copy and paste the link. The app gives you more options, including WhatsApp and Instagram.

It’s also possible to embed a SoundCloud track into another website. Most site builders, such as Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress, make this an easy process. This lets you build up an online portfolio that’s full of your greatest hits.

A person happily listening to music while outside.

Tips for Reaching More People on SoundCloud

You can’t just rely on SoundCloud’s own promotions to get more plays. In fact, it helps to have a full social media strategy. A Promote campaign should just form one part of it. Here’s how to get more organic listeners and plays on SoundCloud:

  • Refine your track’s SEO: Make sure your description and hashtags describe your track perfectly. This lets SoundCloud categorize it for new potential listeners.
  • Collaborate with others: Reach out to artists in your niche and ask to work with them. If they say yes, the end result could help you connect with their audience.
  • Engage with artists: Similarly, build up your network by giving feedback to new artists. Connecting with people encourages them to check out your tracks.
  • Check your top listeners: If you have a Next Pro plan, you can see more details about your listeners. Use this to figure out your next campaign’s demographics.
  • Keep refining your music: Ask for feedback and continuously use this to get better. As you develop your talents, you’ll find your music will become more popular.
  • Buy real plays: Some sites let you buy plays at a much lower cost than full campaigns. Always avoid bot listeners; these won’t give genuine engagement.
  • Join a repost chain: Artists in SoundCloud communities look after one another. If you’re part of a repost chain, your mutuals will share your tracks for free.

A person writing an update in their journal’s timetable.

Promotion Timelines on SoundCloud

The official Promote feature takes five days to kick in. You can’t begin your campaign right away. This gives the site a chance to look over your campaign. They’ll have to approve it and ensure it fits their guidelines. On top of this, your promotions will only last a maximum of two months.

After two months, you’ll have to buy another promotion. However, this is still a lot of time on people’s front pages. Giving a more narrow date range could make more of an impact on listeners. You’ll then be able to replace this campaign with another once you release a new song.

Build Your SoundCloud Brand: Enhance Your Social Media Strategy With Goread.io

One of the best SoundCloud promotion techniques is to share the content on other platforms. If you do this, you’ll need thriving Insta and TikTok accounts. At Goread.io, we make sure you get the followers and engagement you need.

Our team will help you get more plays on your tracks through our network of real accounts. Try Goread.io today, and you’ll see online growth that makes a real difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is promoting on SoundCloud worth it?

If you’re on a budget, it might be better to promote your music on other channels. You’ll have to pay for Advanced targeting to get the most out of SoundCloud’s built-in promos.

How else can I promote my tracks?

You can share your music on various social platforms. This could simply be a case of spreading a track’s URL far and wide. Your campaign might include every online account you have. 

How much is 1,000 views on SoundCloud?

With SoundCloud’s Promote feature, you’ll pay at least $10 per 1,000 views. This comes with a minimum $25 spend. There’s also no guarantee that these people will actually play the track.

Will people know I promoted my music?

Yes. SoundCloud lists the song as a Promoted Track. It could blend into the background like any other ad. However, the people who see it will fit neatly into your target audience.