Distributing music to as many places as possible is important, which is why I researched (and now wrote about) if Disthttps://bestfriendsclub.ca/distrokid/roKid can upload my music to Soundcloud.
DistroKid does not distribute music to Soundcloud. Although DistroKid does distribute the vast majority of stores and streaming platforms, Soundcloud is not included in their offering.
With that said, will DistroKid ever offer Soundcloud distribution, and why exactly do they not offer it right now?
Spoiler alert: the answer to these questions is in this very article.
There are also few ways to monetize your music with Soundcloud, and there are also some brand new features in Soundcloud that are worth looking into on this topic.
So strap on your learning cap, grab a warm cup of coffee, and let’s bring on the knowledge, my friend! 🙂
Why DistroKid Can’t Distribute To SoundCloud
DistroKid actually wrote a short FAQ article on this topic where they mention which stores and streaming platforms they distribute music to.
This list includes:
- Spotify
- iTunes
- Apple Music
- Amazon.com
- YouTube Music
- TikTok
- Deezer
- Pandora
- TIDAL
These are clearly the main top dawgs in the streaming world, so they definitely are correct when DistroKid states that, “These stores cover the vast majority of music purchases.”
However, on that list, DistroKid shows several other smaller stores and streaming platforms with no mention of Soundcloud.
This is what DistroKid mentions on the topic of other, smaller online stores and platforms:
“We feel that adding a lot of smaller online stores only adds complication, without adding any significant amount of additional buyers.”
DistroKid
But, can Soundcloud even be considered a “smaller online store” in the first place?
What the heck is going on here?
P.S. – For a full breakdown of where DistroKid can and can’t get your music, check out my article: Where Does DistroKid Distribute To?
Why does DistroKid not work with Soundcloud?
Clearly, Soundcloud has been around for quite some time and has quite a few users. It can be easy to argue that Soundcloud is not a “smaller online store”.
After doing some research, I think I figured out what DistroKid does not distribute music to Soundcloud:
Soundcloud is trying to compete with DistroKid by introducing “Repost by Soundcloud”.
Repost by Soundcloud offers 3 main features:
- The ability to distribute music to music services like Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok, and Instagram
- The ability to monetize your music on Soundcloud (similar to YouTube monetization)
- The ability to promote your music by submitting your music for playlist consideration and building pre-save pages
When looking at this feature set, you can clearly see that #1 and #3 are the exact same things that DistroKid does: allow you to distribute and promote your music.
I’m no master coder extraordinaire, but I’m pretty confident there is no technical reason that DistroKid wouldn’t be able to pass along music over to Soundcloud for release.
The reason DistroKid does not work with Soundcloud is that Soundcloud is trying to compete with DistroKid.
If you consider how Soundcloud has been undeniably becoming less and less popular over time, it makes sense that they need to make some changes to remain relevant and profitable.
Making a move into the music distribution space could make sense, but is it a case of too little too late for Soundcloud?
Let’s take a closer look into Repost by Soundcloud and how it compares to what DistroKid offers.
Repost by Soundcloud vs DistroKid
First off, let’s get this out of the way:
If you are already on DistroKid, don’t bother even thinking about switching to Repost by Soundcloud.
I’ve built a handy table to compare the two services for you below, but honestly, I’m not sure it is even worth comparing!
From researching this topic, I found people in forums literally laughing at what Soundcloud is offering…
One person essentially called Repost by Soundcloud “DistroKid but worse and more expensive”.
Why is Soundcloud’s fancy new feature being panned by artists?
It all comes down to 3 main reasons:
- It’s more expensive per year than DistroKid
- They take a 20% cut of your Spotify royalties where DistroKid takes 0%
- Soundcloud music distribution quality is new and untested
On top of all that, you can even save an extra 7% on any DistroKid plan if you are not yet with them. This makes DistroKid’s offering even better when compared to Soundcloud.
Learn more about the DistroKid discount, if you’d like to learn more about how it works and how much you can save.
Clearly, the main thing that Soundcloud seemed to get wrong here is costs.
Seriously, what were they thinking when they created their pricing model?
A higher yearly fee and a massive 20% cut?
That would have potentially been okay years and years ago when Soundcloud was at peak popularity and DistroKid didn’t enter the market with much lower fees.
On top of this, Soundcloud states that they provide “One all-inclusive price – no upsells for every little feature like other providers”.
Which is a massive lie.
Most distributors don’t have “upsells for every little feature” (at least DistroKid does not).
It’s also extremely clear that this whole “Repost by Soundcloud” thing is just one big upsell to get you on to their $15 per month Soundcloud Pro Unlimited subscription.
Okay…
/rant
And now, I present to you a neat little table comparing DistroKid pricing and features with Repost by Soundcloud:
| Distributor | Plan | Cost* | Cut | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DistroKid | Musician | $19.99 | 0% | 150+ |
| SoundCloud | Repost | $30 | 20% | 28 |
| SoundCloud | Pro Unlimited | $144 | 20% | 28 |
*Costs are yearly
After having a look for yourself and comparing the two services, it becomes pretty clear that DistroKid is the superior music distribution service.
I should also mention that DistroKid has a few different plans which you can learn about in my article, DistroKid Musician vs. Musician Plus (spoiler: Plus wins because you can set release dates).
However, one thing that Soundcloud has over DistroKid is a mobile app. There is currently no DistroKid app (if that is important to you), however, they are working on one!
Now.. what if you want to still release music on Soundcloud but do it automatically via DistroKid?
Will DistroKid ever get Soundcloud distribution?
Let’s take a closer look and find out, my friend. 🙂
Will DistroKid Ever Get Soundcloud Distribution?
If Soundcloud is absolutely determined to compete in the space of music distribution, then it is unlikely that they will ever allow DistroKid to distribute music over to Soundcloud.
If they opened things up so that DistroKid could distribute to Soundcloud, it would absolutely kill their own Repost by Soundcloud service.
Because their new fancy new music distribution service has just been launched, there is no way they will be allowing for DistroKid distribution anytime in the next few years.
However, if Repost by Soundcloud fails then the fine folks over at Soundcloud may very seriously consider allowing for DistroKid distribution.
Why is that?
Repost by Soundcloud is clearly a way to try to improve Soundcloud profits and Pro Unlimited subscriptions from the artists on Soundcloud today.
If this feature fails and Soundcloud can’t make more money off of the artists on their platform, they may consider allowing for DistroKid distribution to increase the number of fans and listeners using Soundcloud.
By allowing for DistroKid distribution, there will be more music in the Soundcloud library which may in turn increase the amount of Soundcloud users.
I believe Soundcloud makes less money off of the average listener compared to the average artist, which is why I don’t think they would make this move until they absolutely had to.
The unfortunate truth is that Soundcloud is in the business of making money from artists and not in the business of providing music to fans and listeners.
And to be honest, that is probably why Soundcloud is failing.
But is it possible that Repost can save Soundcloud and make them more relevant to both artists and fans?
Maybe, but…
Will Repost by Soundcloud save Soundcloud?
To be honest and straight with you right away: I don’t think Repost by Soundcloud will save save Soundcloud.
Why is that?
For starters, what Soundcloud is offering with their music distribution service is hardly competitive with DistroKid or nearly any other music distributor out there.
I previously compared DistroKid vs UnitedMasters, and DistroKid easily beat out UnitedMasters there too.
When looking at the costs and features of Repost by Soundcloud, it looks like their offering could be even worse than UnitedMasters (which is almost hard to believe at this point).
Again… a 20% cut of your stream revenue… seriously?
Looking past their cost and offerings, the problem is that Soundcloud is very much known as a streaming service and that is it.
Most artists are comfortably releasing their music via DistroKid or any of the other music distributors out there already.
Which brings up a great point:
The music distribution space is crowded enough as it is, it is hard to see how Soundcloud can compete.
The only artists that may be interested in Repost by Soundcloud are those that are already on the SoundCloud Pro Unlimited, since they get the $30 per year fee waived.
However, even then, these artists still get that hefty 20% cut of their stream revenue taken away.
To fully understand how bad that 20% cut is, make an estimate of how many streams (and money) you’ll be getting with a Spotify royalty calculator, then multiply the revenue number by 0.02 to see how much Soundcloud takes from you.
Considering how much Spotify pays per stream, you’ll definitely agree that you simply can’t afford to give any of that sweet Spotify cash away.
Repost by Soundcloud is quite simply too little, too late.
Related Questions
Does DistroKid monetize SoundCloud?
Great question! DistroKid does not monetize Soundcloud because DistroKid does not have a partnership with Soundcloud or the ability to distribute music to Soundcloud. The only way to monetize your plays on Soundcloud is by using Repost by Soundcloud.
Does DistroKid work with SoundCloud?
Another great question! DistroKid does not work with Soundcloud. The main way to upload to Soundcloud is by using the Soundcloud website or app.
Does DistroKid distribute to SoundCloud?
Wow! Another great one! DistroKid does not distribute music to Soundcloud. DistroKid can distribute your music to most stores and streaming platforms, but Soundcloud is not included in their offering.
