OK we get it Soundcloud is the worst this, that and everything. Can’t believe they are trying to make money off the platform hey… how dare they!

The reality is Soundcloud is looking pretty grey (here nor there) these days but what’s the point in kicking the poor fella when its down? Since its inception in 2007 it’s probably been one of the greatest developments for the music industry. It’s revolutionised the way we listen, share and discover, especially dance music.

From a blog perspective we used to post yousendit links, along with Zippyshare and Mediafire not that long ago up until Soundcloud became the norm. It’s easy to embed, it’s easy to use and its resourcefulness is unprecedented.

Labels and artists use private links to work with their counterparts and friends from around the globe without the need to download and open in a player. Unintentionally if your lucky a friend passes over that latest GANZ flip or Knife Party original because it exists and you’ve been privvy to a sneak peek.

Sure some Major Labels tried to nudge in and take a bit of control, but who can blame them trying to protect their assets and try to continue supporting their artists. The latest we’ve heard is these label deals were never confirmed and today Soundcloud is searching for ways to monetise the platform that boasts 40,000,000 registered users.

Yes, they have paid accounts as well as that ‘creator program’ and hopefully these will be free of ads but for the rest of the pack you need a way to cover the costs of hosting, paying wages for the people who work tirelessly to keep the ship sailing. What about all the feedback we have? A team hears that and tries to mediate these things in, it’s called research & development and people don’t do those things for free in our day and age.

As it stands we’ve got ads dubbed before a track here and there but that’s what we’ve been built to understand. Visit any website and there are ads, what about Spotify? Yep, ads. The radio? ads. TV? ads. Google? ads. We all eventually turn off and then becomes the need to re-invent the wheel but for now, it’s not really that big of a problem is it?

I’m sure there are some other alternatives in development but at this stage nothing boasts the robustness, intuitiveness and downright clever option we have right now that works as well as anyone could ask.

All too often people are quick to criticise but never offer any help in suggesting other ideas. That is neither constructive or helpful to anyone and only creates this wave of hate aimed at again, one of the most crucial things within the dance music community.

How about we lessen the grip we have around Soundclouds throat and give it a chance to breathe, find its footing and keep powering forward?