SoundCloud – It’s not easy when it’s hard (Or “One hand doesn’t have a bloody clue what the other is doing”)

I’ve been a SoundCloud user for what feels like forever. I can’t even remember when I created my account anymore – probably sometime around 2015. At first, I only uploaded small clips – but eventually I started distributing music I’d created myself after releasing a few tracks through Swedish-based RecordUnion around 2013. Now I’ve – for better or worse – managed to put all my eggs in one basket – SoundCloud.

The reason isn’t overly complicated – the platform is solid. I can upload short and simple clips that are easy to share when needed – almost a bit jukebox-y, you could say. At the same time, I can distribute full tracks – if they’re worth listening to – to streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube Music – you name it! And it’s that distribution part I want to talk about – because it’s not always straight-forward.

One hand doesn’t have a bloody clue what the other is doing

The distribution process itself is easy. You basically enter your artist name and track info in a form that – once you’re used to it – feels decently structured. It’s probably just a matter of habit. DistroKid, for example, looks messier – though I’m sure it has advantages I’ve yet to explore. SoundCloud is great when it comes to pricing – and it offers so much that you really don’t need any other service. The big issues lie in approvals – and support. Like I said – one hand doesn’t have a bloody clue what the other is doing.

Lately I’ve learned that things aren’t as clear-cut as I thought. To distribute music through SoundCloud, there are some really weird restrictions – probably dictated by the industry as a whole. The structure of your tracks needs to follow very specific rules. Just the fact that you’re not allowed to include the artist name in the track title can make you raise an eyebrow. And then come the edge cases – where tracks are approved or rejected with no obvious logic.

The problems with distribution

I recently released an album together with “BosseBus”. It took a long time to get approved – but eventually, it showed up. Two tracks – one original and one remix. Now, remixes are a bit “funny” – because according to SoundCloud’s business logic, the remixer is not the person who created the song, but an external party who’s simply remixed the original. So I’m not allowed to list myself as the remixer unless I can provide valid proof – a signed agreement – that I have permission to remix my own track. Which means I have to sign a contract with myself – using a different name as the remixer. Then it’s fine. And for this release – Ballad om en gatumusikant – that’s exactly what we did.

However, after the release, we realized the original track had issues. And once music is released, it becomes tricky to make changes. Many distributors don’t allow it. In most cases, even updating metadata becomes a hassle – you basically have to contact support and do it manually. And with SoundCloud having a ton of distribution partners – unless you stick to just a few services – this gets worse. So the general advice is – take down the old version and push out a new one. But that has to happen in the right order.

When I wanted to update the metadata on my old RecordUnion tracks, I had an idea – why not distribute them via SoundCloud? That created even more problems though, since the metadata didn’t match – and now multiple versions are out there. Normally, you’d start a new release before taking the old one down. That’s where the real trouble with Ballad om en gatumusikant began.

As I write this, we’ve got three releases in SoundCloud’s distribution queue:

• One is the original
• One is the remix
• One is the album with both tracks

Only one of them is approved – the original. Which, ironically, is the one we want to replace. So everything is going out in the wrong order. Let me explain.

To fully replace the old album, we also have to remove the old version. But we can’t do that until the new album is fully approved – because we can’t remove individual tracks from an album – we have to take the entire album down. If I take it down too soon, the remix will be removed too. That remix has listeners and is part of several playlists. This is the same logic as when switching distributors – launch the new one before killing the old. So now we have to sit and wait for the remix to get approved before we can remove the old album – otherwise, we risk losing everything.

So far so good, right? NOPE! Because here comes that same problem again – one hand doesn’t have a bloody clue what the other is doing! Right in the middle of this chaos, SoundCloud decides to reject the new distribution – even though it’s THE EXACT SAME content already out there. Their reasoning?

They say it can’t be fingerprinted to “Content ID” – probably because the old one already has one. Fine, I could live with that. But then comes the kicker:

You appear to be distributing generative AI content. Please note that most AI content is currently not eligible for distribution, as is outlined in our Terms of Service. Please only resubmit with a license that fully outlines terms of use. Thank you!

The problem? We’re not distributing generative AI. These are original tracks! And now I’m wondering – was it really such a bloody smart idea to put all my eggs in one basket? SoundCloud is good – but at the same time, bloody impossible to deal with. And their support? Utter garbage. I’ve reported the rejection as an error. Whether I’ll get a reply today, this month – or sometime next year – is unclear. At this point, this might be the only valid argument I’ve got for switching distributors.