Getting zero plays on a track you’ve worked hard on can be frustrating. As an artist, we know you want to Get Heard. That’s why we’re excited about our new feature First Fans - an update that makes it easier for real people to hear the music you upload on SoundCloud.

First Fans taps into our existing autoplay algorithm to recommend your newly uploaded tracks to listeners who are likely to enjoy them. The goal is to give your music a chance by making sure new uploads are heard by real people during the critical post-release period.

You can find out more about First Fans here.

First Fans is now available for all Next Pro subscribers. 

Which uploads are eligible for First Fans?

First Fans is currently only available for music tracks which are under 10 minutes, uploaded by Next Pro subscribers. Only 30 tracks per subscriber will be eligible per day.

How many people are you going to be surfacing these new uploads to?

First Fans is designed to give your music a chance. We’re starting by recommending your tracks to around 100 people with listener profiles that align with your music. Note that while we can recommend your track to people, we can’t force them to listen all the way through. So this does not mean every track is guaranteed 100 listens.

Who are my tracks being surfaced to? Are these plays coming from bots?

We’re not showing tracks to random accounts - we’re matching them up to listeners who are likely to enjoy them based on use of autoplay, user activity, and listening history. This naturally disfavors bot accounts, which typically don’t have this type of data available.

Creators are limited to a total of 30 uploads per day.

How does the “autoplay” algorithm work?

Our autoplay algorithm helps surface tracks to fans with relevant music preferences using indicators from their user activity and listening history. That means if you have a history of liking and listening to digicore music (for example), we’ll show you more digicore tracks you might like in autoplay. 

What if I don’t want my track to be heard by lots of new fans?

If you don’t want your track to be discoverable, you can always upload a private link and share directly with fans and collaborators. Publicly uploaded tracks have always been and will continue to be eligible for inclusion in SoundCloud’s autoplay and recommendation algorithms.

Who will be able to see these tracks?

Publicly available tracks on SoundCloud are available to everyone, and can be seen by anyone. This change just means that your track will be suggested to more listeners (and more potential fans!) through autoplay.

How will this impact my listening experience on SoundCloud?

As we test this new initiative, we’ll adjust the right number and mix of people to surface new tracks to. We’re keeping a close eye on listener behavior to make sure that autoplay continues to be an enjoyable experience and valuable discovery tool.

Can you turn this on or off as a listener?

Our recommendations are tailored to your listening behavior and can help surface tracks you might be interested in. If you don’t want to listen to autoplay recommendations, you can always queue up songs, create a playlist, or actively choose what tracks to listen to. You can learn more about autoplay here.