SoundCloud launches 'First On SoundCloud' campaign to celebrate creators

Photo: SoundCloud

Earlier this week,  SoundCloud, the world's largest open audio platform, launched its First On SoundCloud campaign. The new ad campaign focuses on celebrating “the inspiring stories and raw energy of creators whose careers begin on the platform.”

"SoundCloud is the only truly open audio platform, built for creators first," said SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor in a press statement. "Creators are the center of our ecosystem and this campaign underscores our commitment to empowering them with the best tools, data and resources to share their work, inspire their audiences and build their careers on SoundCloud first."

The campaign features 10 ground breaking creators across various genres including hip-hop, electronic, and pop including Kehlani, Taylor Bennett, Lorine Chia, Melo Makes Music, Party Pupils, Jay Prince, Witt Lowry, and more.  

Over the next three months, SoundCloud will roll out videos featuring each of these creators telling stories about their first uploads to SoundCloud, their  albums, festival appearances and Grammy nominations.

Bennett, the younger brother of Chance The Rapper, stars in the campaign's first video and gives viewers insight on what inspires him. 

Additionally, SoundCloud will give all creators outside of featured campaign group, the opportunity to be heard through First On SoundCloud. By uploading a original track to SoundCloud and tagging it with #SCFirst, selected creators will be highlighted and promoted through SoundCloud playlists, social feeds, and newsletters. 

“First On SoundCloud” playlist: Creators uploading their latest tracks to SoundCloud with the tag #SCFIRST will be considered for inclusion in the “First On SoundCloud” playlist on SoundCloud’s homescreen, giving them global exposure to new fans, plays, likes and follows.

#SCFIRST on social: After uploading a track to SoundCloud with the tag #SCFIRST, creators can use SoundCloud’s seamless Twitter integration to immediately tweet their track with the #SCFIRST hashtag. SoundCloud will be randomly selecting creator tweets and tracks to promote to its millions of social followers.

Fast track consideration for monetization in SoundCloud Premier: Creators uploading content with the tag #SCFIRST will also be reviewed for inclusion in the SoundCloud Premier monetization program which offers creators a leading revenue share and additional promotional resources from SoundCloud.

#SCFIRST in SoundCloud newsletters and blog: SoundCloud will also randomly choose creators who upload their tracks using #SCFIRST for spotlights in SoundCloud’s newsletters and blog posts.

Despite their financial struggles over the last year and a half, SoundCloud remains a power platform for discovering new music from emerging artists. In fact, it built its reputation off that. With SoundCloud, a unknown artist can upload their music and become a star in a matter of months, sometimes even sooner. Through First On SoundCloud, the company is taking full advantange of this by reminding creators that it supports them from the very beginning, not just when they are buzzing.  It clearly knows its niche and is making a strong push to differentiate itself trom Spotify and Apple Music. It’s a smart move if you ask me. 

For more on the campaign, you can read the company's blog post here. 

SOURCE:  SoundCloud Press