Does the Follower Count Impact Your Income on SoundCloud?
The more followers you have, the more plays you get.
Musicians who start their careers on music platforms complete the full cycle to succeed. They record, publish, promote, and negotiate new deals and contracts. Still, nobody asked, “How to measure success as a musician?”. The first things people think about are:
- Followers count
- Streams count
- The dynamic of new followers inflow
- The correlation between the number of followers and the number of streams
When musicians enter platforms like SoundCloud, increasing the follower count is one of their priorities. The more followers you get, the more listens your songs will get. With that, newcomers keep asking about how many followers we need to make money on SoundCloud. Such questions repeat multiple times, and with that we decided to give a detailed response, explaining how exactly the follower count impacts your income. We also recommend reading the article: How to Make Money on SoundCloud
How Does the Monetization on Soundcloud Work?
By understanding the mechanism of payment calculation, you’ll understand how to maximize your income.
To receive royalties for songs, you have to set up your profile for monetization. The best option is to join SoundCloud for Artists, which is also called “Next Pro”. It costs nearly $93 per year and gives access to new capabilities:
- Unlimited uploads.
- Advanced profile settings to create a better appearance and have better promotion.
- Expand your audience. Get more listeners with the First Fans’ recommendations.
- Receive payment for your songs.
Compare features available with the default package (left column) and premium package (right column).
| Feature | Next (Free) | Next Pro (Starting at €7.08/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Track Uploads | Up to 3 hours | Unlimited |
| Access to SoundCloud for Artists | Included | Included |
| Private Track Uploads | Included | Included |
| Public Track Uploads, Comments, Fan Messages, Downloads | Included | Included |
| Customizable Artist Profile and Bio | Included | Included |
| Ability to Request Profile Verification | Included | Included |
| Direct Fan Donations (e.g., PayPal, Cash App, Venmo) | Included | Included |
| Extended Reach with First Fans Recommendations | – | Included |
| Unlimited Global Release Distribution | – | Included |
| Automatic Release Distribution to New Platforms | – | Included |
| Permanent Release Distribution & Royalty Payments | – | Included |
| Access to YouTube Content ID | – | Included |
| Monetize with Fan-Powered Royalties | – | Included |
| Access to SoundCloud for Artist’s Promotional Toolkit | – | Included |
| Scheduled Track Releases | – | Included |
| Split Royalty Payments | – | Included |
| Priority SoundCloud Help and Support | – | Included |
| Advanced Listener Stats & Insights | – | Included |
| Over $1,500 Worth of Savings on Partner Offers | – | Included |
| Spotlight Your Best Tracks and Playlists | – | Included |
| Replace a SoundCloud Track (Keep Play and Like Counts) | – | Included |
| Free Track Mastering (3x per Month) | – | Included |
| Premium Profile Badge | – | Included |
Premium package impacts not only by letting you monetize your content but by unlocking dozens of options to monitor performance and distribute tracks among different platforms (Spotify, YouTube Music, etc.). You can create a schedule for track releases and upload new songs at the decided time. Also, you’ll get discounts from partners like Splice, TrackLib, and others.
Manual Content Monetization
Another important thing about content monetization is monetizing content manually. You can do it if you are a content rights holder and only with labels and artists that have direct communication with you.
If you are a rightsholder and you wish to monetize a track, ensure your profile is connected to a rightsholder Network. If it’s not connected, make a request and wait when your profile will be added to the network. Under the “Tracks” section go to “Edit”, then to “Monetization” and select the rightsholder panel. Click the “Enable Monetization” button and start earning.
To understand how soudcloud algorithms work read our article.
How Do You Accumulate Royalties on Soundcloud?
When a user only clicks on your song and listens to it for a few seconds, it won’t be considered as a normal listen that brings royalties. To make real income, you need to meet specific criteria:
- Your music and profile on SoundCloud must be set up for monetization.
- The listening session should last at least 30 seconds.
- The listening must be on a monetization-available territory.
- Users must listen to music via the web or Mobile. It won’t work via an embedded app because there are no ads there.
Fan-Powered Royalties – A Real Way to Earn for Independent Artists
Those who only start their path as independent musicians often hear about fan-powered royalties. They want to know this and how it may help them earn more. Fan-powered royalties depend on the number of fans who listen to your music. The final payout depends on your fans’ listening behaviors. The more they listen to your songs, the more you get paid. You can receive fan-powered royalties once you monetize your content directly from SoundCloud. Still, how exactly does this model work? The final payout is based on three core factors:
- How much time do fans listen to your songs compared to all listening time during the month?
- How many ads do fans consume?
- Whether fans have a subscription on SoundCloud Go+.
Fan-powered royalties will bring serious income if their audience listens to their songs frequently. So, if your fans spend most of their listening time on your songs, the revenue will go to you. Still, if you will just buy SoundCloud followers, it won’t be enough. You have to join SoundCloud for Artists to unlock fan-powered royalties.
How to Attract Followers on Soundcloud?
People won’t follow you unless you attract them.
The number of followers directly impacts your earning capabilities because the more streams you have, the more you get paid. However, people won’t come to you if you don’t attract them. Besides working on the quality of your content, you need to optimize your profile. When listeners open your page, they understand that they are on a musician’s profile.
Appearance matters, so consider selecting a proper profile image. It will be better if you ask someone to create a trademark image that represents your personality and refers to your genre. The perfect size for the image is 1000×1000. Also, select a background image.
Both the profile image and the background image on Eminem’s profile are recognizable. Moreover, one of them harmonizes with another.
Next, you need a proper description. People won’t recognize you until you become famous, so you need to tell them about yourself. You don’t need to write an essay of 300 words or more: include only the most important information. Add links to your social media, so people will follow you there and be the first to know about the upcoming releases. You will build credibility, and your audience will be closer to you.
Add a border frame to your tracks – it will make them more presentable. Also, if you have a signature artwork, use them as images for your tracks. It’s another trademark that will make you recognizable on the platform.
Once you get a SoundCloud for Artists subscription, you can create top of your favorite tracks and pin it on top of your profile. People who are interested in your profile don’t need to scroll down. They can launch these songs and decide whether they like them or not.
Don’t ignore download gates and add it to your profile. This feature will help you get over 20% of the new followers (San Holo became famous thanks to download gates) and make a solid impact on your SoundCloud follower count.
Be Active in Social Media
Each platform has its unique audience. Use the capabilities of each program to present your music to your followers.
Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are perfect for content promotion, especially if you’re a musician. The reason millions of users watch videos and engage with others is that they are looking for high-quality music. Use it to your advantage and promote your songs using Stories and music videos. Ensure you know the best time to post on each platform because the more people see your content, the more of them will listen to your music.
In this video, the author explains how musicians can use social media to increase their fanbase.
Invest in Promotion
Effective promotion is a key component in building your music career on SoundCloud. When you enter the platform, no one even knows about your existence. You need to stop being in the shadows and start being proactive. At this stage, your goal is to get more SoundCloud followers, and promotion is a great way to do it.
Define your goals and budget, and select the company that will deliver the promotion services. Promosoundgroup is a good choice because it offers a diverse range of packages. If your goal is to give yourself a starting boost, select the proper package. It can include listens, likes, and followers, or something specific from this list. If you are unsure about what you need, contact specialists and make your choice. It’s an option to buy real SoundCloud followers and make a huge impact on the algorithm.
Get More Followers to Get More Money
The follower count matters, especially if your goal is to make money on the music platform. People won’t stay with you for a long time if you don’t attract them. Moreover, new followers won’t spot your profile if you don’t have a powerful promotion and a solid social media presence. Musicians spend lots of money getting fake followers and following the wrong strategies waiting for organic growth. That’s a wrong approach. The best way for you to get more followers is to take all actions in the complex. You should rely on real followers and avoid bots. Invest in promotion and remain active with your scheduled music posts and social media updates. This is your perfect recipe for getting a large number of followers. It won’t happen fast, but consistency is what you need to get your music on top.
Is it possible to earn on SoundCloud?
You can earn on SoundCloud by activating monetization and receiving revenue for streams and ads. You need to join Spotify for Artists to unlock monetization.
How to get more followers on SoundCloud?
Promote your music across social media. Always mention your SoundCloud profile and provide links, so people will listen to your songs on the platform, which directly impacts monetization.
How much you can get for 1 million plays on SoundCloud?
The final payout may change depending on the region you’re located in and the amount of fan-powered royalties you can get. For 1 million plays, you can get approximately $2600.