SoundCloud, a top 5 Music app on both iOS and Android, has today released a new mobile application aimed specifically at artists and creators. Called SoundCloud Pulse, the app allows its users to share their sounds publicly and privately, track their stats and performance, reply to comments, and follow other users. The company says a more advanced feature set is already in the works, and will launch along with the iOS release in the future.
At present, SoundCloud Pulse is Android-only, as the iOS version is not yet live.
Included in the forthcoming version, however, will be support for more in-depth stats, the ability to edit track info, the ability to upload tracks, and expanded messaging capabilities.
The new app is the first time the company has launched a mobile tool aimed at the creators who fuel its community.
Its arrival comes at a time when SoundCloud has been reportedly working on making its service more legitimate by paying labels and toying with plans for a paid, ad-free subscription service. Getting artists more directly involved could also help the service become a better source for indie music and discovery of new and up-and-coming creators as well, rather than the legally gray destination where some labels are pulling music due to licensing issues and lack of monetization possibilities, though others signed rev-sharing deals with the service.
SoundCloud Pulse also arrives following a revamp of SoundCloud’s flagship application this summer, around the same time as Apple Music’s launch which saw Apple honing in on SoundCloud’s territory by offering ways for independent artists to participate on its new Music platform.
The updated SoundCloud app delivered a ton of new features focused on improving discovery and the overall experience for end users, but didn’t offer creators more tools for managing their own accounts.
Pulse addresses other complaints, too – namely that many features creators relied on disappeared from the native app over the years. In fact, this came up again in the comments of the blog post announcing SoundCloud Pulse. A creator asked why the company is doing two separate apps, to which SoundCloud’s Senior Marketing Manager Brendan Codey responded, offering the company’s reasoning:
SoundCloud today has 150 million registered users and 175 million monthly listeners, and featuring a user base that skews younger than Spotify’s and Pandora’s, Bloomberg recently reported.
The company said earlier that it will debut its subscription service “later this year,” but hasn’t provided a time frame. Getting a polished app ready for its creator community seems like a much-needed first step, however, before such a service rolls out.
