Spartan Scroll

by MATTHEW BAHK

Allowing musicians to get closer to audiences all around the world, SoundCloud grants users the ability to upload and share their own music.

Founded in 2007 by Swedish sound designer Alexzander Ljung and Swedish artist Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud has built up a powerful online presence that has even founded artists, most noticeably, the Grammy-winning Lorde.

The site allows free listening to an infinite number of tracks with few advertisements.  Real-time comments connected directly to a song’s time line allows users to interact with each other and comment on specific moments in a piece.

Users are able to favorite songs and create their own playlists, similar to Spotify and YouTube. However, unlike these other sites, SoundCloud allows certain tracks to be directly downloaded onto a desktop, creating more opportunities for artists to connect with listeners.

SoundCloud allows artists to create their own profile, release music and publicize it through a personalized URL.  Students have also been able to release their own tracks online; the program allows registered members to publish up to 180 minutes at a time.

“I chose SoundCloud because people knew about it and it’s accessible to all audiences,” said senior Adrian Lozano, “I wanted people to hear what I had to offer in the world of music.” Lozano is a 4-year SoundCloud veteran, originally mixing 80’s music before realizing his passion for Country music.

Its stylistic design and simple accessibility makes it an ideal site for artists to showcase themselves.

“[SoundCloud] is a good platform for my music,” said Kane Tenorio, a 1-year SoundCloud artist (known as KamiKaze Kane on SoundCloud). Tenorio releases hip-hop/rap music.

Although the site has taken negative feedback because of its dealings with corporations, the advertisements provided allow the service to remain free. Major music corporations like Sony/ATV and Warner use it for the promotion of their own artists.

SoundCloud is student-friendly because of its accommodating functions for free and registered users and is recognized worldwide through its growing popularity.