Soundcloud is one of the proving grounds for artists to show their popularity. It helps them have solid proof that they are popular and are worth paying attention to, especially in an era where the portals for music engagement are drying up. Without MTV, and terrestrial radio, many bands and artists are relegated to pushing listens on websites such as Soundcloud. There’s a drawback. First, you could be ignored. Second, you could end up with inflated, fake numbers. The reason why is because some focus on the notion that you can buy soundcloud followers, and listens, which can pose serious risks to your career.
What Is Soundcloud?
First and foremost, let’s consider what Soundcloud is and how people are using it to their advantage. This is a site that allows anyone to upload sounds. Once uploaded, anyone can listen to tracks, share them, comment on them, and more. The more listens and followers you have, the larger your potential audience can become. Getting to the top of the charts on this page is like hitting #1 on the top 10 countdown of MTV’s old video channel, and it’s like the 1980s hair metal bands hitting the billboard charts. It gives DIY artists and just about anyone an opportunity to get heard, and possibly get more coverage in blogs, sign record deals and more.
The Pros and Cons of Buying Followers and Listens
With the advent of Soundcloud and other engagement platforms, people have been finding out that there’s a way to “hack” the system. What people have done is simple, they have started to buy influence. To some, this is nothing more than payola that used to go into terrestrial radio. To others, it’s cheating. The site takes this seriously, but there are some people that still do it, as there are some pros to this that you’ll need to consider. There are also some cons, so don’t assume this is without any sort of detriment, especially if you’re caught. The following pros and cons can help you determine if this is something you want to risk.
Pros: Showing Off Your Audience’s Size
The first reason why many buy plays is simple, it boosts the numbers. When you send out an electronic press kit to a label for consideration, and they see that your tracks are getting hundreds of thousands of plays, they think that you’re a bigger band than you are. Heck, some people get millions of plays, and it seems insane. Chances are, they paid for them, and that may not necessarily be an honest listen. You can easily buy soundcloud followers, and buy soundcloud likes, making it seem that your audience is a lot larger than it really is.
Pros: Going Viral
Think of buying plays like pushing a snowball down a mountain. It could very well turn into a giant boulder of snow, and even create an avalanche. A deluge of plays could put your tracks on the front page of major music sites, and even get major label attention. You don’t need to buy 1 million plays; you could easily get this started with 1,000 at the right time. There’s a bit of finesse found here, but it’s not an impossible task.
Pros: Build A Fan Base
When you purchase plays and engagement, you may in fact build fans. If your music is in fact good, paying people to listen to it could very well open up a community around what you’re doing and could help you get more attention. They could share your tracks, review them, and even buy merch. This is the best thing that could happen, obviously, but it is not an impossible happenstance.
Cons: Buying Followers and Plays Doesn’t Guarantee SERP
If your goal is to get ranked within search engines, and possibly reach the front page of Soundcloud, buying influence doesn’t always help. This depends on how fast the views come, when they come in, and from where they are coming and going. You may order 100,000 plays, and they trickle in, slowly getting you to the top, but it could also land faster. Imagine 100,000 plays in a few minutes, and that’s it. SERP management takes time, and if you buy plays a lot, you could end up outside of the rankings.
Cons: Get Flagged and It’s All over
More and more users are flagging accounts. They are noticing inflated plays, lots of spam, and tracks that are just subpar. When enough people flag the account, it starts to go down in visibility, and eventually will not show up. In extreme cases your page could get shut down. Once this happens, even if you aren’t completely blocked, you will not be able to bounce back as fast. You could lose your influence, and all traces of your page will get lost.
Cons: Your Reputation Will Not Recover
When people find out that you are inflating your numbers, and you are not transparent in how you’re influencing your popularity, reputation is ruined. This occurs across all niches, and industries. Think of restaurants that pay for positive reviews, when their food is bad. The same thing happens with music. When labels find out that you’re not as popular as you appear, they don’t want to spend money on you, simple as that. Fans also do not like this, and could end up leaving you with no hits, no credibility, and a ruined reputation.
Walking The Fine Line
Here’s the thing. You could still buy soundcloud likes, you could still buy soundcloud followers. People do this all the time. However, you need to consider whether your music is ready for the big time. You need to consider whether or not you can withstand the onslaught of attention that is going to head your way, and if the risk is worth your reputation. Again, if your reputation takes a shot, it’s very difficult to recover. People aren’t going to forgive you fast if they find out you’re cheating or cutting corners. There’s a backlash here. Now that you know the pros and cons, weigh your options and consider whether this is worth the risks. For some, there’s no debate, for others, it’s best to hold off.

Infographic by www.jouzik.com Buy Soundcloud followers