How to Delete Song That Didnt Upload on Soundcloud

April 16, 2022 Post a Comment

Last updated 26 March, 2018

Save yourself from the heartache of losing years of plays, comments, and followers on SoundCloud by learning from my mistakes.

A few weeks ago I read nearly SoundCloud starting its takedown campaign on a massive scale, targeting both casual users and big name acts alike (Knife Party being i of them). I've had a few takedowns in the by due to some remixes and mixtapes that I've made in the five years that I've been on the music sharing platform, and then I didn't call back much of it because I but causeless it was concern as usual. Big error…

I got a text bulletin from a promoter just a single solar day afterward I read nearly the takedown entrada.

"I have a client wants to hear your remix but they can't access your SoundCloud. Where else can nosotros bank check information technology out?"

I expected the worst, and I was right: My account had been deleted along with all the music I uploaded for the last half decade! Information technology really couldn't have come at a worse time (is in that location ever a good fourth dimension?), because I was about to showtime promoting my EP of all-original music which was going to rely heavily on using SoundCloud as my playback and social hub, and instead I was left with aught.

So I contacted support and they told me that they have a "three strikes and you're out" rule regarding takedowns. Sadly, I wasn't aware of that until my account was removed, since takedowns in the past didn't lead to obvious penalties other than your music disappearing from your contour.

So in lodge that you might salve yourself from all the problem I went through and learn from my mistakes, here is my advice to anyone who wasnts to carry on using SoundCloud:

Don't upload edits, mixtapes or remixes to SoundCloud – I know this is obvious, but this wasn't necessarily the case when I renewed my pro account last twelvemonth. SoundCloud is now quite strict about information technology, and is condign more of a repository for original material past musicians instead of a customs of DJs and a bastion of remix culture, so if you plan on uploading content that has music that you didn't compose yourself, expect elsewhere
Don't ignore your past uploads – If you've been on SoundCloud for a couple of years, you'll want to go through your back catalogue of tracks to make sure that at that place aren't whatever songs at that place that aren't yours. They could potentially be flagged down the road, and the last thing that y'all desire is your business relationship being deleted for some mix you made half a decade agone
Brand sure y'all back up your music files – Deject storage is what's popular today, but don't think that having your files uploaded means that they're safe from being deleted. I had a couple of tracks on my profile from when I first signed up to the service that I never saved copies of, and you bet I'thou kicking myself right at present for non taking the time to collect them all in an external difficult drive. For an easy way to pull all your SoundCloud mixtapes (but not individual tracks), Mixcloud simply introduced a new feature chosen SoundCloud Importer
Don't put all your eggs in i social basket – I had a mixed purse of talk show podcasts, originals, and remixes on my account, and all of them were gone in an instant, along with any semblance of dominance on the platform or popularity for whatsoever of my tracks. Certain, I could make some other SoundCloud account, just how can I become back v years'-worth of plays, comments, and community involvement? Our recommendation is to utilize a variety of social platforms that are suited to your content: Use Mixcloud for mixtapes, use Buzzsprout for your podcasts, etc. That way, yous aren't defined by any one service that could potentially ruin your career if it disappears. Better, have your ain site…
Gather email addresses equally a priority – This is a biggie. No affair if your SoundCloud profile gets deleted or your Facebook and Twitter accounts get hacked; if you've got an e-mail list of all of your fans that you constantly update and grow, you're pretty much covered for whatever social media setback gets thrown your way. Equally more and more online platforms get introduced, the only thing constant on the internet since the early 90s has been electronic mail. Your online profiles and your weblog could die, but e-mail won't, at least not for the foreseeable future!

Finally…

SoundCloud Worst — SoundCloud'south equivalent of the Blue Screen Of Death. At the end of it all though, it was my responsibleness to be updated on the service's new policies and to comply accordingly.

The biggest takeaway here is that you're ultimately responsible for any yous upload to your social media accounts. I tin rant all I want near how "unfair" these takedowns were, or nearly how SoundCloud is at the fore of remix culture and that its refusal to lead information technology is a missed opportunity for moving the needle forward for copyright laws, but at the terminate of the day I should've just paid closer attention to the music that I had on my SoundCloud profile, likewise as the changes in policies that the service had undertaken and duly complied.

Trust me, folks: It'due south not worth risking your time, coin, and music if you're just going to terminate upwardly losing all of that in the end because of a basic oversight.

How have yous been afflicted by the SoundCloud takedowns? Where do you lot host your music now? Please share with the rest of the states in the comments below.