Soundcloud has crossed the line.

[Solaris]

I've been uploading my tracks to Soundcloud since 2018, and I've been getting increasingly annoyed with the product.

https://soundcloud.com/solaris_lmms/crowns
When I posted this track back in November 2021, I noticed immediately that the song did not sound like what I wrote. It sounded like I was adding in a bunch of white noise when I wasn't, especially around the 3:08 mark.

I tried basically everything possible while still keeping the original synths playing the music. I've tried changing the bit rate, the sample rate, re-exporting the whole thing from scratch about 3 times, I even caved in and used a free trial for their scammy Pro subscription which allows you to change the song audio without deleting the track, ALL OF THIS to no avail. I looked deeper, and found out that Soundcloud deliberately compresses the audio extremely harshly to "reduce the bandwidth and server workload". What a load of crap.

So I'm done uploading my music to Soundcloud as my primary means of listening. I took my YouTube channel (with no content as of writing this) and turned it into the new hub for my music. I've also taken the liberty to turn my music into Guitar Hero/Clone Hero charts for everybody to play as well. I'm gonna be scheduling uploads of my past music there, and pretty much all future tracks will skip Soundcloud entirely.

Here's the channel. The first video is already scheduled to go live at 2:22 PM Eastern on 2/22/22. I've already prerecorded everything, so content is not an issue.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO6sJi ... -HrxBMVHig
(I don't know if posting basically an ad for my YouTube is against the rules, it doesn't specifically say so and posting this in general chat is the most appropriate place for this to be posted.)

[NOVAVA]

Thank you for sharing your experience! But have you already tested the audio quality of Youtube compared to soundcloud? Because it seems, all major music hosting/streaming sites alter audio to a certain degree. You might check out this video here, at minute 15 there you can see direct comparisons between different streaming sites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FURPQI3VW58&t=757s

I think the best way, is simply to change your "mindset" on streaming sites. You might still upload your music to soundcloud, Youtube etc., but look at these sites simply as demo platforms, which mainly serve to promote the final product - which is a high-quality audio file like FLAC. You might add a link to download a FLAC file. So people are able to find your music on soundcloud, but download a HQ-version of it as well.

There is a simple reason, why streaming sites compress audio to such a degree, that it alters the music and they can get away with it: Because most people actually do not notice the alteration. And even if they do, they don't consider this alteration to be significant enough to taint the musical experience. After all, in earlier days it was much more worse. Just think about vinyl records. You write in your post, that soundcloud is adding white noise to your music and is therefore intervening in your art. But old mediums such as vinyl and tape did the same! In the past we were plagued by analog white noise on vinyl, today we are plaqued by digital white noise on streaming sites! History always repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce.

TLDR: All streaming sites are faulty, use them just for promotion and offer a download link to a FLAC or WAV.

[Monospace]

Doesn't YouTube also compress audio? At least, for people with lower subscriber counts?
Eitherways, my inexperienced ears cannot hear any difference, so I'll take your word for it. It's really unfortunate a primarily audio-based service like SoundCloud compresses audio, even at the subscriptions. Quite disappointed. While I'd prefer you also upload your audio on SoundCloud as it'd be more convenient to me, I understand your decision to stick to YouTube only for the future.
I'll keep an eye out on the channel. All the best, Solaris.

[Solaris]

A quick addendum to my rant: I've decided that Soundcloud will still be updated regularly, it's just not going to be my primary source of audio distribution anymore.

All in all, I dislike Soundcloud for many reasons; the bots, the fake plays, the statistic gatekeeping, the horrible compression, how much times Soundcloud is throwing their Pro subscription in my face (it's every time I open the website), etc. YouTube is easier for me to manage (since I'm addicted to it). As I advertise the channel in more and more places, there will also be more and more subscribers, which means more recognition and less compression bullcrap. By the way, it compressed my song MUCH BETTER than Soundcloud did.

I think the best way, is simply to change your "mindset" on streaming sites. You might still upload your music to soundcloud, Youtube etc., but look at these sites simply as demo platforms, which mainly serve to promote the final product - which is a high-quality audio file like FLAC. You might add a link to download a FLAC file. So people are able to find your music on soundcloud, but download a HQ-version of it as well.

The reason why I am uploading to YouTube is exactly this - a preview should you download the file. I put the link for the audio files inside of a Clone Hero Google Drive folder in the video description. Because of how Clone Hero (a PC version of Guitar Hero) is coded, it only accepts .ogg files as the audio file type when compiling the notes.

I don't care that .ogg is not a lossless format, it works perfectly fine.

[maria]

Have you tried uploading your music on peertube instance? Peertube is like a Youtube but decentralized so there are many instances you can choose from.

[Gps]

You tube also compresses the sound.

Its one of my main critics about soundcloud too.

They even offer paid services, but not a word on the quality, which is probably the same as a free account.

[musikbear]

I've been uploading my tracks to Soundcloud since 2018, and I've been getting increasingly annoyed with the product.

We have this talk before. The conclusion was/ is that all upload-services compress audio to 128bit MP3 - iow a lossy-format

[brandystarbrite]

Dude, don't worry about leaving soundcloud. If youtube is better in a sense go for it. Or upload your tunes, on another site of your choice that suits you.

[Monospace]

Solaris, have you considered Bandcamp?

[RebeccaColeman]

Hey, I totally feel your frustration with Soundcloud. It's a bummer when the platform doesn't deliver the sound quality you intended for your tracks. I've had similar experiences with audio compression, and it can be a real letdown. But hey, it's great that you found an alternative hub for your music on YouTube! It's important to adapt and explore other options when one platform doesn't meet our needs. I recently came across a website where you can pay for Soundcloud plays. It's interesting how there are hidden gems and strategies to navigate these platforms. As a newbie on this forum, I'm excited to learn from everyone's experiences and share my own.