Firstly, when you’re a new artist, one of the main challenges faced is getting your music heard and shared with a wider audience. This can be really hard and can take time to build up your fan base.
Moreover, it’s natural that artists want to get promoted and out there as soon as possible. And the temptation is therefore to employ some quick-fix methods, such as to buy views or tap into free SoundCloud plays.
Similar to buying Instagram followers, the idea behind buying cheap SoundCloud plays is to hopefully get more people listening to your tracks and sharing them with their friends.
However, generally speaking if you buy Soundcloud plays and buy SoundCloud likes, is not considered good practice and is officially against the terms and conditions of the site. It has a lot of potential for spam and at the end of the day, these plays are essentially ‘fake plays’.
They are not building genuine fans and followers of your music. Even if some services offer you to buy real SoundCloud plays, are they really? How do you know? How are the plays counted?
Pros of buying Spotify plays
- Kickstart Your Campaign
- Firstly, buying plays can kickstart your campaign to get things going and it can potentially attract attention from record labels, agents, media, etc. But, this is not guaranteed. And if there are spikes in your engagement and long-tail drop, that’s not going to look good.
- Strengthen Your Social Media Presence
- Furthermore, it can help to strengthen your profile on social media and make you look popular. Moreover, it can potentially get people talking about you and your music.
Always Consider These Aspects!
- It’s Obvious
- With that being said, it’s fickle and temporary. Additionally, to the trained “music industry” eye (A&R at record labels included), it’s pretty obvious when someone has been buying plays. So, it does have the potential to have the opposite effect to what you’re intending. And can undermine your credibility as a genuine artist. Just be aware that bought plays are not targeted. It is purely a numbers game. Moreover, like buying Instagram followers, you may get loads of people suddenly appearing on your account. But you don’t know who or where they are and only a small percentage are likely to be your target audience. So essentially there are a lot of wasted plays.
- You’re Open To Scams
- There are some legitimate and effective companies out there. But there are also a lot of scams. There are companies offering to “buy SoundCloud plays for $1”, not a good look. Make sure you research genuine sites to buy Soundcloud plays. Furthermore, only ever use a company you have really researched and have been recommended. We recommend you look for people doing organic SoundCloud music promotion also known as Soundcloud Promoters. Don’t fall for the ones who contact you directly or ask for your login details. Generally speaking, these will be the scammers. You should only ever need to supply a link to your SoundCloud track. Also, check customer satisfaction reviews.
- Success Is Not Guaranteed
- Additionally, despite paying for it, your success is not guaranteed. You still have to put an element of hope into play and people can unfollow you just as easily. The main thing to consider is that building yourself up as an artist should take time. You want to be around for the long-term and it takes time to build up a genuine following. Don’t forget, you can win X Factor or The Voice and literally never be heard of again after the post-show interviews are done! We’re not saying never buy any Soundcloud plays. We’re just saying there’s a lot you can do without doing so that can be just as (if not more) beneficial to your future as a Billboard-topping artist.