SoundCloud puts music writers in charge of its new playlists
Artists like Juice WRLD will have their SoundCloud activity highlighted in 'The Feed.'
The streaming era is producing its own music stars and SoundCloud is tapping the industry's tastemakers to help you discover them. Putting its financial woes aside for a minute, the service is doubling down on playlists promoting its fresh artists across genres (hip-hop, electro) and moods (morning routines, first dates). This time it's getting a little help from music journalists including former Pitchfork editor-in-chief, Mark Richardson; electronic music critic, Philip Sherburne; hip-hop reporter, Sowmya Krishnamurthy; and Pitchfork and Rolling Stone contributor, David Turner.
You'll also find entire mixes ("The Feed") based on an artist's SoundCloud activity — the tracks they like, follow, or repost — starting with sad rap breakout, Juice WRLD, whose debut LP is currently sitting atop the Billboard 200 albums chart for the second week in a row. Like streaming juggernaut Post Malone, Juice WRLD got his start uploading tracks to SoundCloud. And the new playlists are designed to highlight SoundCloud's status as a hotbed for new talent.
SoundCloud's timing couldn't be more apt. Today, 17-year-old Billie Eilish — a musician arguably birthed by streaming services, and this year's most-streamed female artist on Spotify behind Ariana Grande — released her debut album. Meanwhile, Lil Nas X just ignited a debate about the absurdity of genre charts after Billboard removed his trap-country mash-up Old Town Road from the Hot Country Songs chart — his ascension fueled by TikTok videos and radio plays of his viral hit ripped from YouTube. The industry is clearly undergoing a seismic shift.
SoundCloud is also hoping to get you talking with like-minded music fans on its new Community pages. The list includes "Hustle" (for hip-hop heads), Shine (pop), and The Peak (all forms of electro). "The full SoundCloud curation experience features nearly 1.7 million unique creators heard a week, compared to a few hundred thousand on other music services," wrote SoundCloud in a blog post. "That means more new music for you, and more opportunities for creators to connect with fans and grow their careers."