The decline in SoundCloud is a topic widely discussed across the music industry. The platform single-handedly launched thousands of artists’ careers, helped to birth new genres and opened up the relationship between fans and creators in a way never before seen. While it was once the golden child of the music industry; the platform that everyone loved, the winds have shifted and almost daily you hear some sort of complaints or claims that SoundCloud is dead. Despite them being grossly exaggerated (we still use SoundCloud as our main discovery and listening platform), there is merit to the complaints and overall discourse.

There are a number of factors that have contributed to SoundCloud’s decline but reposts and repost chains are often the first to be mentioned. Given the level of discussion around the topic, I decided it was time to take a deeper look at repost chains, exploring what they are, how they work, and getting a few perspectives as to whether or not they truly are ruining SoundCloud. I had the pleasure of speaking with a few friends of the blog to gain some additional insights including the founder of Phuture Collective (Michael), Jerremy (THRPY) from Above/Below The Surface, the Lost Dogz collective, and veteran producer, DJ and podcaster Willy Joy. Without further adieu, let’s explore the world of repost chains.

What is a repost chain?

Repost chains can take a variety of names from repost groups, to mutual support chains, repost networks, repost trade groups, and more. At the core the idea is the same: a repost chain is a group of artists, labels, influencers or collectives who join a group and agree to repost each other’s music on SoundCloud.

How do repost chains work?

Of the artists and repost chain managers I spoke to, all were using an automated system. This ensures efficiency and allows them to scale with ease. Users join the repost chain (generally invite only), once they have been added, they have the ability to submit their music at a given frequency and it will be reposted across the network’s channels. In return, the new member allows the automated system to repost a given number of songs automatically on their account.

Do repost chains actually work?

This is dependent on the repost chain and how active the members and their follower bases are. As Jerremy tells us, you need be careful who you agree to work with. “Trading became very saturated and there are many people who trade with dead accounts (accounts that only repost heavily and don’t release) so I only trade with a select few of people.” That being said, the potential upside is real. “I run two different chains. One has a reach of 1.4 million and the other about 2 million. The 1.4 million is all full of completely active underground musicians and labels. A typical run on that chain if I did EVERY ACCOUNT would be about 10,000 plays. My other chain I co-run with a very good friend of mine and that chain gets about 3,000-5,000 plays across active dubstep/trap producers and tastemaker brands,” Michael of Phuture Collective tells us.

Are repost chains free?

Like anything in the industry this is dependent on who you talk to. The general idea is that these groups/chains are created as a form of mutual support. Members are usually only accepted into the chain based on their following/size/work. That being said there is still a cost. By joining a repost chain you’re losing control of the curation of your SoundCloud page with music being automatically reposted on your behalf. For some this is a trade-off that’s too rich. Speaking with Lost Dogz, they shared their thoughts on the promotional tactic, “Repost chains are undeniably effective for reach – however, not something we focus on or that aligns with our brand. We rely on the music, brotherhood & fans to push our content and its worked so far for us. There’s no doubt using a repost chain will get your track out to a wider audience, but we would rather have genuine support on Lost Dog/Dog Pound releases rather than automated support.”

What makes a “good” repost chain?

Effectiveness and results would be the biggest indicators but that’s something that would only come through experience. Two things that stood out in my conversations were ensuring the repost chain limits the number of reposts per day (most seem to do between 1 and 4) to reduce spam, and screening members to ensure they are only adding quality to the group. For some that means manually screening, as Michael tells us, “I’m very careful what I repost and who joins my chain. I also check every track before scheduling to make sure the track fits the accounts reposting.”

Are repost chains ruining SoundCloud?

Ask five different people and you’ll get five different answers. We did, and have opted to list them below to provide a wide range of perspectives.

“I can see why some people say this – to a degree I am even inclined to agree with this statement but I do not think it is the concept of repost chains that has ruined SoundCloud but the abuse of them. There are simply far too many filled with far too much music that the majority of people within these chains just don’t like, but are willing to accept for the purpose of plays.” – Afrosamuraiist, Bonsai Collective

“Ruin is a harsh term, there are still plenty of gems to be found – but chains are definitely saturating your feed and making it more difficult to discover new music. We don’t like the idea of reposting music on our pages that we haven’t heard. It can be misleading to your fans and the fact that people brag about reposts they’ve gotten from a chain is really sad. It’s just another superficial aspect of music right now that we aren’t buying into.” – Lost Dogz

“SoundCloud changed greatly because of reposts and did take a turn for the worst but there is still a group of amazing online promoters who know how to use these features in positive ways which in turn makes SoundCloud a better platform.” – Jerremy (THRPY), Above/Below The Surface

“People saying it ruined SoundCloud ruined SoundCloud. They gave up on the best community for musicians to ever exist. If people get annoyed with reposts – UNFOLLOW THOSE PEOPLE REPOSTING. If anything all of those crumby SoundCloud gates ruined SoundCloud since to download stuff you have to follow 10 accounts that all repost 5 tracks an hour. There are literally extensions that hide reposts and just show you fresh uploads. SoundCloud could do this on their homepage in a minute and it would shut people up….” – Michael of Phuture Collective

“They were maybe a symptom of the overall disease, but in general SoundCloud ruined SoundCloud by not focusing on their creators and their community – the people who built them up in the first place. It wasn’t any one facet of the site, it was their overall corporate culture and subservience to the major labels that sunk them in my opinion” – Willy Joy

From our perspective we see it both ways. Repost chains can be a great way for artists (especially ones with limited resources) to promote their music and to mutually support one another in an efficient manner. The flip side is that reposts definitely lead to over-saturated feeds and have made music discovery slightly more taxing on the platforms. Relinquishing control of what’s posted on your account is a big risk and one of the reasons why don’t use repost chains at FUXWITHIT; for us, curation is what we built our platform on.

At the end of the day, repost chains can have a huge benefit to artists but it can occasionally come at a cost to fans. Lost Dogz summarized it best in saying “Just because Lost Dogz don’t condone repost chains through either of our pages, doesn’t mean people are wrong or bad for using them. It’s just something we knowingly don’t choose to partake in & our success speaks for itself. Support your friends and people you care about!” Support your friends. Whether that’s organically or through an automated 80 person chain that reposts 1-4 songs on your account is up to you, it’s 2019 after all.