SoundCloud

SoundCloud is known for its impressive array of features:

• SoundCloud allows users to upload their music to a personalized URL. Sound files are also easy to embed, which means that SoundCloud can be combined with Twitter and Facebook to spread music farther and faster.
• SoundCloud users may create and join groups with common interests, where they can collect, rate, and share relevant media amongst themselves.
• For no charge, SoundCloud users may listen to as much audio as they want, upload up to 180 minutes (three hours) of audio to their profiles, create playlists, "Like," "Repost," and "Share" music, and "Follow" other users. The free package also lets users make downloads of their audio complimentary.
• With SoundCloud PRO, which costs $6 a month or $55 a year if purchased all at once, users may upload six hours of audio content, view stats that include plays by country, and pin tracks and playlists to the top of their profiles.
• With SoundCloud PRO UNLIMITED, which costs $15 a month or $135 a year if purchased all at once, users may upload limitless audio, view stats that include plays and traffic by city, and view the web pages and apps where their music is being played.
• Both subscription plans include a 30-day money back guarantee and users can gift subscription plans to other artists.
• All music that a user likes is saved to their "Collection," which is accessible from any page. A user's Collection is divided into four sections: Overview, Likes, Playlists, and Following. Artists that users choose to follow will appear under "Following." Users can also shuffle the music in their Collection by toggling the "Shuffle" button.
• Users may choose to upload a file saved on their computer or record through the SoundCloud website itself.
• SoundCloud offers apps for different mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, and Firefox OS.
• Users may add comments at any point along a song, and those comments display automatically when the track reaches that point.
• SoundCloud offers an in-house messaging app that lets users communicate with one another through the website.
• Unlike most other websites that stream music, SoundCloud features keyboard shortcuts to navigate music, search the catalog, and change the audio volume.
• SoundCloud has mobile apps available for Android, iOS, and Amazon.
• Users don't have to select a particular playlist in order to listen to music continuously; SoundCloud will play songs with similar sounds after users choose a single song, whether from the main page or their Collection.
• Prior to registration, SoundCloud's homepage automatically populates with new and popular music in the network. The recommendations change with every refresh. After registration, the homepage becomes a user's feed, which displays new content from artists and labels they follow.
• With most songs on the site, clicking the song name will bring users to an expanded content page with a description of the content from the artist, recommendations for additional listening, and space to leave comments. Selecting the artist's name brings users to the artist's page, with all uploaded content listed.
• All content is tagged, and users can use these tags to sort their own content and others' and explore new music. Examples include: #beethoven, #future, #deephouse, and #hiphop.
• Users can explore new music through the "Explore" tab. It is divided into two categories: Trending Music and Trending Audio. Music is further divided into genres.
• Whatever music is currently playing will continue to play while users upload their own music, unless they are recording. The music does not automatically shut off, which provides for a fairly seamless listening experience.
• As SoundCloud is a distribution platform and not an Internet radio service, there is no skip limit. Users may skip songs as often as they like.
• In addition to music files, SoundCloud hosts content from speechmakers, comedians, poets, and authors.

• Single sound file sizes are limited to 2GB and total upload time per week is limited to 30 hours.
• SoundCloud is among the more expensive audio distribution services.
• SoundCloud does not offer censor options for explicit lyrics.
• SoundCloud does not display lyrics to most songs.
• Song quality is variable, because users compress their own audio and upload it independently. However, songs' bitrates are usually displayed as they stream.
• Users cannot "unlike" a song without playing it first.