Any kind of paid promotion for music artists comes with a handful of concerns, with budget remaining at the top. With a high availability of promotional platforms, it's daunting to choose a particular agency that can become your reliable promotional partner. With the cases of fraudulent, new-age artists, they are also feeling quite skeptical about hiring a digital platform for paid SoundCloud Promotion. While the dilemma is valid, the biggest question is whether investing in promotional packages is a worthy choice or not! In order to find the answer, you must look into the advantages, disadvantages, and other aspects that support it.
A lot of experts and established artists suggest that paying for built-in tools on the platform, like "Promote on SoundCloud," is still better, as it offers targeted impressions and helps to reach like-minded listeners who would genuinely like your music. But hiring an agency from outside still remains a gamble, and many third-party promo services turn out to be fake or a scam. The external packages can also offer fake or low-quality engagement, which drags your music down in the algorithm instead of pushing it to the top.
Official Built-in Tools on SoundCloud vs. Third-party Promotional Services
• Promote Natively on SoundCloud
SoundCloud was primarily created with the vision of empowering music artists with more growth and monetization opportunities online. Therefore, the platform caters to the unique needs of each music artist more than listeners, and it also consists of built-in promotional tools to help independent music artists. Built-in ad tools let you choose genre targets and a budget to display your music through the mobile feeds of other users. It almost comes with the guarantee of impressions or views that visitors would come to your profile. But it does not guarantee whether there will be a play or not, as a user may scroll past your music without even listening to it.
• Third-party Promo Sites
Third-party sites for SoundCloud music promotion can be effective, but there are instances of scams and fraud, which makes it fishy, and music artists should be aware of the package they are purchasing. While cheap packages seem to attract a lot of music artists, anything that is surprisingly cheap is never a good option. When you buy cheap promotional packages from the external agencies, they can offer bot-views or fraudulent plays that ruin your impression and rank you down on the algorithm. That is why buying promotional packages from third-party platforms is generally discouraged and also suggested by many SoundCloud musicians who have already bought such packages.
Now, you might think built-in tools are the only options that can work for your music authentically, but there is a catch. Every tool or service comes with certain kinds of pros and cons; they are present in this case, too. Taking a better look at it can help you make a better decision about what kind of promotion you really need.
Paid Promotion Features on SoundCloud
PROS
• Artist Plan – It is recommended to upgrade your account profile tier on SoundCloud, as it offers a handful of benefits, including pitch tools, unlimited audio storage, detailed listener data, and the list goes on. It is absolutely worth it, and every artist should do it.
• Targeted Reach – The native ad campaigns are designed in a way that expands your fan base by constantly pushing it. It helps to introduce your polished music outside your immediate social circle, and gaining fans can become easier.
CONS
• No Guarantees – Paid ads on SoundCloud do not come with any guarantee or promise of organic exposure. In this case, you pay for delivery or impressions and not for any commercial needs, such as improving streams, followers count, and career growth.
• Low Returns on Engagement – SoundCloud offers a nominal payout even with direct streaming, and it is not enough to sustain your promotional costs. With such a low ROI, it might not be a great option to invest in.
What should a SoundCloud artist do in this situation?
According to the promotional experts, it is better if you can proceed with a hybrid approach where you promote your music through DIY methods and also hire a professional to leverage their expertise. By combining two approaches, you not only gain better outcomes but also find great ROI by investing a nominal cost. Make sure to contact a professional and define your promotional goals before strategizing your SoundCloud music promotion.
