One of the largest audio distribution platform and music sharing website SoundCloud allows it’s users to promote , share , upload audio and also provides DSP which enables it’s users to stream audio online.
SoundCloud has now become one of the largest online audio streaming service with more than 175 million monthly active users accross the globe.
The British online streaming giant MixCloud permits listening and distribution of radio shows,podcasts and DJ mixes which are uploaded by the users of MixCloud.
SoundCloud vs MixCloud
The main difference between MixCloud and SoundCloud is that SoundCloud is for original singles by artists having no copyright issues while MixCloud is for DJ’s which share pop music
MixCloud’s users can upload and also promote their content from MixCloud’s own social networking widget. MixCloud has an API which users can upload and search content.
SoundCloud is for artists who want to release their songs and masses of people to listen to it and rate it while MixCloud is for DJ’s who wanna share pop music.
Comparison Table Between SoundCloud and MixCloud
| Parameter of Comparison | SoundCloud | MixCloud |
| Uploads | SoundCloud allows to post anything free of copyright and have limited upload time for free users. | MixCloud permits uploading of talks,music shows and podcasts and restricts singles,full tracks and mashups |
| Listening | SoundCloud is more like a personal music player and allows us to repost, share and like tracks | MixCloud is more like an easy to use radio but less interactive like no fast forwarding is permitted |
| Copyright | SoundCloud has signings with major music labels like Sony,Warner Music,etc. Because of which SoundCloud is strict on copyrights, due to which they down DJ mixes | MixCloud is not much strict on copyrights like SoundCloud |
| Downloading | SoundCloud has easy downloads. Free users are given 100 downloads | MixCloud doesn’t permit downloading. You can download tracks if they are hosted off the site or by several online tools |
| User base | SoundCloud has a vast and much diverse user base. It has over 175 million monthly active users. | MixCloud’s user base is smaller and less diverse as compared to SoundCloud’s. It has only 10 million active users per month. |
| Analytics | Users are allowed to track number of plays,likes comments, reposts and downloads. Users can also see from where they are being listened . | Free users are not offered any analytics. Upgrading gives access to all analytics offered in SoundCloud |
What is SoundCloud?
One of world’s largest audio distribution platform and music sharing website SoundCloud allows us to upload, promote, share audio also including DSP enabling us to listen audio online.
SoundCloud has different memberships available free and paid on the platform for desktop and mobile devices.
SoundCloud allows us to post singles, playlists,albums and mashups. Basically everything without copyright is allowed to be posted on this platform.
The whole music industry has been influenced by the success of artists through SoundCloud .There has been support from many investors and media platforms like Twitter financially but the company itself has unsolved most of the funding issues and has dismissed many employees to remain profitable.
One of SoundCloud’s key features include the ability to access uploaded files via unique URL’s , therefore allowing sound files to be put into Facebook and Twitter posts which is a big reason for the popularity of SoundCloud.
What is MixCloud?
MixCloud is a music streaming service giant which is into distribution of radio shows,DJ mixes and podcasts. It is a startup by 4 students of the Cambridge University in the year 2008
MixCloud offers both free and paid services having different perks for the desktop and mobile platform
MixCloud allows users to upload DJ mixes, podcasts and radio shows. Basically MixCloud is a very good platform for DJ’s to share pop music because there is less copyright strictness and also easy to post on social media platforms.
Mixcloud is a startup company in 2008 by Nikhil Shah and Nico Perez, who met at the University of Cambridge. In 2012,MixCloud had 3 million active monthly users and over 500k Facebook registered users and it has almost 10 million active monthly users. In the year 2017 MixCloud had signed a licensing agreement with Warner Music
Main Differences Between SoundCloud and MixCloud
- SoundCloud is for artists who release their original content like single’s and mashups and want large audience base to listen to them while MixCloud is made for DJ’s and radio presenters in place of artists.
- On SoundCloud one can upload singles, playlists,albums and mashups. All music without copyright is good to go on SoundCloud while MixCloud allows upload of mixes,talk shows and podcasts and restricts singles,full tracks and mashups
- MixCloud is not much interactive when it comes to listening, for example you can’t fast forward a track to your favourite part while SoundCloud is much interactive and allows control of tracks like a personal music player and also it allows to repost,share and leave timed comments.
- At SoundCloud its very easy to download tracks and free users get 100 downloads each month while MixCloud doesn’t permit downloading of tracks.
- SoundCloud has great analytics Even for free users and for paid users more advanced options are available while MixCloud doesn’t offer any analytics to the free users, for paid users they give access to a analytics dashboard
- SoundCloud in terms of user base is very large with over 175 million users each month while MixCloud in comparison is smaller with only 10 million users per month
- Every minute almost 12 hours of content is uploaded on SoundCloud while on MixCloud 4 hours of audio content is uploaded every minute
Conclusion
Both SoundCloud and MixCloud are online music sharing and streaming services, their focus is on different types of content creators.
SoundCloud is focused upon individual artists while MixCloud is more focused on DJ’s and presenters.
The vast user base of SoundCloud provides a big audience for the artists to post single tracks and receive public response .
The Analytical tools are available for free in SoundCloud therefore it’s a lot better when it comes to free users who don’t wish to invest money into it.
Overall both SoundCloud and MixCloud are good at their own place. SoundCloud is better for people who want to upload their original music while MixCloud is for DJ’s who share pop music
References
- https://eprints.qut.edu.au/121660
- https://digital-library.theiet.org/content/journals/10.1049/et.2012.0515