SoundCloudfor Android

As one of the most popular audio streaming services, SoundCloud has a lot of things going for it. Artists can easily upload their work and even connect directly with potential listeners. If you’re a power user, you can even listen to SoundCloud on desktop. With power-packed features, the platform is designed to help artists share their work in the cloud. You can listen, share and record your favorite songs with ease.With lots to offer, can SoundCloud (Android) be the only music buddy you need? Read on for the answer!

Why is SoundCloud getting increasingly popular?

The player is a simple widget that plays the last song in the list

You can shuffle between songs, and take control over whatever is playing in the background. It’s one of the simplest and cleanest interfaces among several free music apps in the market.

Once you’ve downloaded the app, a couple of clicks will suffice to log in. You can either create an account or log in through Facebook. 

The interface is neat, and even if you aren’t familiar with too many music apps, you’ll be able to use this one without any issues. SoundCloud Player and SoundCloud Recorder - these two widgets give you control over everything going on in the app. 

The Recorder is a straightforward REC button, which allows you to record music with a couple of clicks. This feature is often preferred by budding and independent artists to quickly present their music to the world.

Record & publish

Once you log in, the Record Tab will be the first thing you notice. To record, just click the REC button. Once you’re done, click the stop button to stop recording. If you like the output, click Save, and you’re good to publish. SoundCloud allows you to add a cover image, name, place and sharing options to the recording. You can even make it public or private. Pretty simple, right?

Track your friends’ interests

Music is the soul of friendships! Isn’t that true? It’s pretty amazing that the app lets you check recent activities of friends. In the Incoming Tab, click a track to start playing it. You could even long-press the track to bring up a menu, which allows you to see user profile, leave a comment, favorite the track or simply share. It’s easy to skip a song, play the next song and do a lot more. If you hold the phone in landscape position, the Incoming Tab allows you to comment on a specified time of the track. You can even read the comments left by others.
There’s also an Exclusive Tab, which effectively declutters your preferences. It lets you see the tracks exclusive to you. The tracks that maybe somebody special only wanted you to hear.

Your profile

In the You Tab, it’s easy to manage the songs you’ve uploaded to the app. By tapping the tab or swiping the page, you can switch between tracks, favorites, followers, following, info and friend finder. A song that hasn’t been uploaded, but recorded, will be visible in dark grey. Once you tap it, you can listen, upload, edit or delete the recording. Check out the Favorites Tab, which lets you listen to preferred genres. The Info Tab allows you to view account information and find friends who’ve linked SoundCloud to Facebook. Additionally, with the Search Tab, you can look for users, artists and tracks. To be honest, this app does offer everything you’d need from a good music buddy.

Where can you run this program?

While you can use SoundCloud through a web browser, the app is available for Android, iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices. This allows you to sync music across devices and enjoy tracks by your favorite artists without disruption.

Is there a better alternative?

Finding free music isn’t really a daunting task anymore. With just a few apps on your device, it’s easy to find pretty much any song you want. Though streaming services are released and discontinued every year, here are a few that stand out:
A popular name, Jango Radio has music from both independent artists and record labels. Independent artists can even pay for plays, meaning you might come across a song that an artist paid for you to hear.
Replacing Slacker Radio in 2019, LiveXLive has become hugely popular. The app offers several stations from different genres, making it ideal for varied music tastes. You can even get a premium version to use more features.
Pandora Music is one of the most popular music apps, it offers cross-platform support. Your stations easily sync across platforms, allowing you to enjoy music anywhere, anytime.

Our take

Well-built with social integration and a huge music stream, SoundCloud ensures an amazing experience for music lovers. While using the app, keep in mind that it’s primarily meant for music discovery. In other words, don’t expect to find all popular and favorite band albums all the time.

Should you download it?

Yes, definitely! Since it’s free, it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. The app has all the basic needs covered. The pros make it a great music app, giving you the freedom to explore different genres and check out tracks from upcoming artists. The cons are trivial, and you could expect more features over time. Without a doubt, SoundCloud is a good choice.