With over 175 million users listening to music each month and a library of over 125 million songs, SoundCloud has made itself the authority of music sharing and streaming. It offers artists, producers, labels and podcasters the ability to share their music with the world and grow a loyal audience. However, for artists, DJs and labels who are using the platform as part of their business model, SoundCloud Pro offers some extra benefits.

Here's what you need to know about SoundCloud Pro:

Two tiers

SoundCloud Pro comes in two tiers: SoundCloud Pro and SoundCloud Pro Unlimited. The Pro service costs users $7 per month, while the Pro Unlimited service costs $15 per month. Both plans allow content creators to test the service first, with a 30 day 100% money back guarantee. Below are some of the advantages of upgrading to SoundCloud Pro.

Added analytics

Upgrading to Pro gives you added analytical features that are not available in the free plan. Apart from counting plays, downloads, comments, likes and reposts, the Pro plan also allows you to see which users play your music the most as well as view your plays by country, so you can tell in which countries your music is popular. In addition to the features of SoundCloud Pro, the Pro Unlimited plan allows you to view the popularity of your music by city and which applications users are using to play your music. It also allows you to view plays by SoundCloud page and website. This way, you can tell which websites and social media networks your tracks are being played from, enabling you to optimize your marketing efforts.

Higher upload quota

The free SoundCloud service allows content creators to upload up to 3 hours of content. Upgrading to Pro gives you additional upload hours. With the Pro service, you can upload up to 6 hours of content. However, this does not mean that you get 6 hours in addition to the 3 free hours. SoundCloud does not allow you to combine plans. Instead, you will have a total of 6 hours. If you opt for the Pro Unlimited plan, you get unlimited time.

More customization

SoundCloud Pro gives you more control over your account. You can customize your account according to your wants and needs. For instance, with the pro service, you can choose to turn comments on or off with the quiet mode. At times some users will give negative comments on your tracks just for the sake of it. In such a case, you can just turn off the comments. The Pro service allows you to turn public stats on or off. You can highlight your songs and playlists by pinning them to the top of your profile. You can also upload source files for your tracks without losing your statistics. In addition, the Pro service gives your fans 1000 downloads for every song you upload, while the Unlimited Pro service gives your fans unlimited downloads for all your uploads.

Costs

The Pro service allows users to make payments in two cycles. You can make payments either on a monthly or annual basis. Depending on your location, you can make your payments using different currencies, including Euros, Us Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Australian Dollars and British Pounds. The monthly costs are $7 for SoundCloud Pro and $15 for SoundCloud Pro Unlimited.

Other benefits

In addition to the above benefits, SoundCloud Pro also allows content creators to reach a wider audience because it offers a more diverse content ecosystem. Upcoming artists can be queued right next to big name musicians, boosting their visibility and helping them gain new fans. With SoundCloud pro, your fans will also be able to download your songs and playlists for offline listening wherever they are, with or without an internet connection.

Is it worth it?

Now comes the most important question. Is the price you pay to upgrade to SoundCloud Pro worth it? The answer to this depends on how you use SoundCloud. If you use SoundCloud as the main platform for marketing your music and are serious about growing your SoundCloud channel, then it is not a bad idea. The added analytic capabilities that come with SoundCloud Pro will help you to measure your marketing efforts, allowing you to know what is working and what is not. This way, you can optimize your strategy for the best results. The higher upload times allow you to offer more content to your fans. The ability to customize your account also gives you more control over how your fans view and interact with your content, allowing you to control your fans' experience on your channel.

Expert tip: You can also buy SoundCloud plays to boost your accounts growth and visibility. Buying plays makes your account seem popular and makes more people want to listen to your music. It also helps boost your search rankings.

Date: August 20, 2016 / Categories: SoundCloud Plays, Tips, / Author: Johnny