Around these parts, we’ve charted the ups, downs, and often bizarre decisions of Soundcloud. It’s clear to say that things aren’t going well for them right now, as their cleaning up house tactics are turning people away from them in droves. And capitalising on this dissent is Mixcloud, that rather cheekily has created a Soundcloud Import tool.
But it’s not just as easy as pointing Mixcloud at Soundcloud and letting it do the rest. Mixcloud is pretty specific on what it does and doesn’t allow. This is from their site:
Uploading: What type of content you can upload
Mixcloud is a digital platform for Radio.
We accept all types of Radio content including talk & music radio shows, DJ mix sets and Podcasts in MP3, AAC, M4A, MP4 audio or OGG file types.
Mixcloud has blanket radio licensing deals with various collecting societies around the world. This means that users can upload shows or mix sets with songs from any catalogue and we pay royalties to these societies, who in turn distribute them to artists, labels and publishers.
Mixcloud does not allow the upload of single tracks or albums, and has a limit of tracks you can use by a single artist.
Please take note: if you do not abide by these rules, your content may be taken down.
So clearly Mixcloud doesn’t want to be a dumping ground for your mashups and remixes, or completely hooky unlicensed material either. So if you think that playing musical chairs with streaming services will buy you some time, think again. Looks like Mixcloud doesn’t want to be in the same hot water as others, and will be true to its name.
The funniest thing for me is that Mixcloud will send you a mail when anyone you follow on Mixcloud migrates. It’s like rubbing Soundcloud’s nose in it.
Soundcloud’s future is still unclear. With Sony announcing that they’re removing some material from Soundcloud, it looks like the majors are looking to move away from the platform and look at other options. We can only watch from the sidelines to see what happens next.
If you want options outside of Soundcloud, there’s no better way than to check out Dan’s streaming site group test.
Somehow I doubt there will be an exodus… that part is probably overboard. But, pretty nice tool nonetheless.
is this mixcloud implicitly allowing me to post my bootleg remixes?
i know i’ve seen a bunch of bootlegs on there, but i still don’t know whether it’s actively frowned upon (pretty sure it’s against the TOS)
You can upload them as part of a mix or radio show. So you could do some very simple transitions between your bootlegs in one mix and it’s all OK. Just uploading individual tracks is not allowed.
You’re not allowed to upload individual tracks. DJ/radio mixes only.
This could not happen to “nicer people.” I will dance a happy jig when Sound Cloud shutters it’s doors. Not only were they rude and abusive, but smug and dismissive. Hopefully, those “prime examples of humanity” will get sued into the poor house.
It would be cool if I was able to have some mixes on Soundcloud. I ditched Soundcloud and my pro account 2 years ago and never looked back. It’s still a great source for individual tracks though.
Guess what happens with mixcloud when all soundcloud users migrate to mixcloud?
indeed. How can they possibly work around the very same challenges.
Mixcloud has its issues, but it is made for DJ mixes. It is a whole lot easier to get around, provides built in playlist management, and is generally better for the DJ end. Soundcloud is a shit show right now, and with Sony pulling all of their music, I’d say it’s not long for this world.
The forums on SoundCloud have been saying that for the last year at least..but it’s too big compared to the alternatives..i use both for mixes.. promote both equally in the same channels and get 100x more plays on SoundCloud…
It looks like Apple’s new itunes / beats app will have SoundCloud features.. then their will be a viable option and SoundCloud will be in trouble.. but Mixcloud won’t end their reign
I don’t think mixcloud will end soundcloud at all. Everybody is just waiting for another option, cause soundcloud is doing a fine job of ruining their own reign. I just think mixcloud is a better platform, it does suck that there aren’t many people there.
I use Soundcloud all day long, I find new music and mixes all the time as well as new artists. I also upload music to it.
I think they are the victims of their own success. When you choose
underground music to put on your Soundcloud page, you won’t have any
issues. Its all the commercial music that causes problems. If the music you
upload is from a money hungry label you are going to have a bad time. It forces you to be original and come up with new music. That’s what I love about it.
I’ve had disputes with Soundcloud, but they have always, every single time, been polite and professional in their conduct. They are also respectful in their attitude to me.
I hope it stays where it is – all the commercial music will fall off and
you will be left with the raw talent that care about the music and not
making money.
Before people start saying “but artists need to be paid” bare in mind that music sales aren’t nearly enough nowadays to get any substantial pay back.
Soundcloud should be a place where people can upload their music and get exposure to be able to perform it live or whatever, because that’s the only way artists can get paid. I know this from experience.
I commented almost the same thing on another article regarding Soundcloud. However, since then i got a mix pulled that had a track from Connaisseur Recordings – definitely not a label I would’ve been worried about at all. I then just uploaded it to my mixcloud.
Really made me rethink my thoughts on soundcloud though.
Its not Soundcloud who have decided that you can’t play that tune, its Connaisseur Recordings. They don’t want any DJ’s they don’t know playing their records on Soundcloud, which is quite sad, but that’s life and it is up to them as they own it.
When that happens to me, I just either re-record the mix without that tune in it or if it’s at the beginning or the end, cut it out. If you really want to make a stand, boycott the label, or make it known that Connaisseur Recordings won’t let DJ’s that aren’t in their clique play their records on Soundcloud.
Personally, I don’t care that much as there will always be another tune by another producer/label who will allow their tune to be played on Soundcloud.
I have had plenty of mixes pulled from Soundcloud, it doesn’t bother me at all, just makes me have to dig harder to find other music to play.
I use both of them and honestly the exposure in MixCloud is just non existent… SoundCloud drive all the attention.
One of the things that is constantly coming back from listeners is taht they can’t download the mixes from MixCloud and that is a big loss for DJs, because people who follow DJs want to have their mixes on every occasion, not only with a broadband connection/streaming.
I’m still not sold on all these streaming things for music on the go. It only made sense for video in my opinion (Youtube, Netflix, Popcorn) when you are at your desk or on your couch.
I second that.. I like Mixcloud but it doesn’t have the broad appeal of SoundCloud.. thousands of musicians are angry at SoundCloud changes but it’s the biggest outlet for what it does by far… and they need to add downloads. Many countries outside the US don’t have the data plans we do.. and it would cost a fortune for them to stream.. they need to download on WiFi then play on phones