How to Make an Album on SoundCloud

If you’re an aspiring musician without a record label, you probably dream of being discovered by a talent scout one day. But until then, making albums and uploading them to a convenient platform like SoundCloud can be of immense benefit. It’ll make your music look more organized and professional and aid you in capturing the exposure you seek.

Use this article as a guide to present your first album on SoundCloud to kick off your career as a flourishing musician.

Make an Album on SoundCloud

Creating an album on SoundCloud is actually no different than making a playlist. Still, there’s something undeniably special about creating a compilation of your best tracks and scheduling a release date for them that’ll keep your most loyal subscribers on the edge of their seats.

Using the Web

Assembling SoundCloud albums on your PC or laptop could give you a clear overview of which tracks you have, which are private, and which need to be uploaded next. This section will show you how to compile an album from scratch, i.e., using multiple tracks that you haven’t already uploaded to your account.

1. Go to SoundCloud’s webpage and log into your account.
   
2. Go to your SoundCloud profile by tapping your icon.
   
3. Click “Profile.”
   
4. Switch to the “Albums” tab.
   
5. Tap “Upload now.”
   
6. Drag and drop the tracks you want to upload or click “Choose files to upload.”
   
7. Tick the box saying, “Make a playlist when multiple files are selected.”
   Note: If you already have a playlist to which you wish to add tracks, skip this step and just upload files normally for now.
   
8. Name your album by filling out the “Title” field. Choose “Album” and the genre from the drop-down menus, then schedule the release date. Add tags and descriptions if you want to and choose whether you want your album to be public or private for now by ticking one of the circles below “Privacy.”
   
   Note: You can keep your album or tracks private at first, then reveal them when you decide to release your album. However, make sure that both the tracks and the entire album are revealed simultaneously because the privacy of your album doesn’t affect the privacy of your tracks.
   
9. If you’ve missed a track while selecting, add it by clicking “Add more tracks.”
   
10. In the “Metadata” tab, add a “Buy” link and record label if you have one.
    
11. In the “Permissions” tab, tick the circles next to the options you want to give your listeners (downloads, offline listening, etc.).
    
12. Tap “Save” to upload your album.
    

In case you’ve uploaded tracks separately or uploaded them earlier, you can add them to a playlist and edit the playlist by doing the same steps as described above.

1. Go to your profile’s dashboard and find the tracks you’ve uploaded.
   
2. Click on the “Add to Playlist” button shown under each track.
   
3. If you don’t have an existing SoundCloud playlist you wish to add this track to, you can switch to the “Create a playlist” tab in the pop-up and type in the name of the new playlist.
   
4. Tick the “Private” circle for now.
   
5. Go to the “Playlists” tab in your profile.
   
6. Click “Edit” under the playlist and repeat the steps from the tutorial above to turn the playlist into an album.
   

Using the SoundCloud App

On the SoundCloud mobile app, you actually can’t turn your playlist into an album. But you can create your playlist with your phone first and transform it into an album later when you get access to your computer. Thus, this section will show you how to make a SoundCloud playlist and prepare your tracks for their grand release.

The process is performed similarly on Android and iPhone devices, so just follow the next steps to surprise your subscribers with new music.

1. Open the SoundCloud app.
   
2. In the “Home” tab, tap on the upward-pointing arrow.
   
3. Choose the tracks from your phone for uploading. The source is not limited to your phone’s storage. You can access files from your Dropbox, Google Drive, or other apps that feature files compatible with SoundCloud.
   
4. Add a photo and track name, choose a genre, add a description, add a caption if you want to, and tick the toggle if you want to make the track private.
   
5. Press “Save.”
   
6. Go to the “Library” tab.
   
7. Click on your profile picture.
   
8. Under “Tracks,” find the one you want to add to your playlist and, later, the album.
   
9. Tap the three vertical dots at its right.
   
10. Click “Add to playlist.”
    
11. If you haven’t made a playlist already, tap “Create playlist.”
    
12. Give it a name and tick the toggle next to “Make public” to keep it secret for now.
    
13. Click “Save.”
    

Note that your album doesn’t have to be of your own songs. You can label any playlist you make an “Album,” but you won’t be able to monetize other people’s tracks. Also, uploading copies is a copyright infringement that can get you in trouble.

FAQs

How many songs may I add to a SoundCloud Album?

You can add no more than 500 tracks to your SoundCloud album or playlist.

How many minutes can I upload with a free SoundCloud plan?

You can upload up to 180 minutes, which equals three hours of sound, as a free user of SoundCloud. Upgrading your account to a Pro user can double that amount. But as a Next Pro user, you can upload as many minutes or hours as you wish.

What is the best upload quality for a SoundCloud track?

SoundCloud supports various formats, with a size of 4GB at most for each file. For minimal quality loss, SoundCloud recommends uploading tracks in formats such as WAV, FLC, ALAC, and AIFF with 16-bit depth and 48 kHz sample rate.

Organize Your Music with SoundCloud Albums

Creating SoundCloud albums raises your chances of building your reputation and fanbase, getting recognition, and potentially being scouted by big companies.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be that serious. You can create albums of other artists’ tracks or upload your work just for fun. Whether it’s for your subscribers’ or your own enjoyment, compiling select songs into albums allows you to sequence them in a way that gives you and your followers a unique listening experience.

Let us know in the comment section below if you’ve already attempted to create an amazing SoundCloud album and how it benefitted you.