The unsigned musician landscape is ever-changing. For me, SoundCloud is one more clarifying story.
Staying and Leaving
I’ve seen platforms for independent musicians come and go. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s been years since SongWhip went from being an essential musician (and fan) tool to completely gone.
SoundCloud still exists and it seems to work well for some musicians. Not so much for me that I’m willing to pay for it.
Clouds and Sounds
When I first upgraded to “Pro” on SoundCloud, it was an experiment for me. My alter-ego, Stanley G, needed a distributor. So I chose SoundCloud for that purpose.
Unfortunately, my experiment did not succeed. The tools, analysis, and environment did not impress me. There were also some unresolved questions about how much access LLM/AI tools have access to the platform. One of the most annoying things for me was all the spammers who are on the platform.
So, I cancelled my paid subscription. That means that all the tracks by Stanley G will be removed from streaming platforms. I’m okay with that. It was an experiment after all.
G’bye, SoundCloud
I found the subscription price quite high. The analysis tool data did not match what I saw for the same tracks in the Apple Music artist tools. Add to that the unsolicited messages and I grew weary of the platform very quickly.
Don’t get me wrong, I know that lots of my peers appreciate and even enjoy SoundCloud. More power to you! If it’s working for you, then keep working it.
I’m not sure if I’ll release any of these tracks through another distributor. It seems unlikely given how little interest there’s been in them.
Discover more from Stan Stewart - @muz4now
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New year, new possibilities. I pray you’ll find a rewarding new outlet for you music, Stan.
Thanks, Mitch!
Luckily this only affects a few of my releases. I will continue to create music – live and recorded – as long as I am able.
Peace,
Stan
Stan, as you know, I appreciate and follow your music. I do understand the frustration with the amount of time and work it takes to share our work when spammers try to get us to buy a t-shirt or something else, instead of showing sincere interest in our art. Still, there are those of us out here with genuine appreciation. I do hope you will continue to share your music on YouTube, or other platforms.
This only affects 3 releases under the name “Stanley G”. The 100+ releases as Stan Stewart are not affected. So yes, I will continue to share my songs and compositions. There are many more to come.
The spammers I dealt with on SC were almost 100% trying to sell me followers there. I don’t do that and SC frowns on it, so the quantity of these unsolicited direct messages was really annoying.
I do appreciate your support! Thanks for stopping by.