
SoundCloud
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SoundCloud And Instagram Launch Cross-App Link-Up
Music service SoundCloud has been a go-to for artists and producers getting started but has had its own struggles to stay in business, claiming a "creator-focused" path last year. SoundCloud announced on Oct. 23 they are rolling out easy link-sharing through Instagram Stories, and this should make it easier for artists to blast out to fan-followers when they have uploaded new tracks.
On SoundCloud's blog, the company says "easily shared … means easily heard" and boasts that "what's next in music is first on SoundCloud."
Both statements have truth in them, but it's also true that SoundCloud is a bit of a corporate underdog. Observers noted a comparable announcement from Spotify and Instagram dated from May. SoundCloud needs to appeal strongly to the people who already use it, and it is catering to emerging artists, so this is the little guy playing catch-up to a degree, but that won't matter to fans already using both services.
The power of connecting SoundCloud and Instagram Stories more directly likely lies with youth and user-behavior analytics. For artists monitoring the activity on their SoundCloud accounts, spikes will tell them when Instagram Stories succeed in becoming viral. The nature of Instagram sharing also takes dialog through comments into another new dimension.
More than half of internet users under 30 use Instagram, so this bid to blast tracks to kids is smart positioning and users of all ages will likely be pulled in as well.