SoundCloud Alternatives 2019: Rediscover the Best Music Out There!

We think it’s time we look for SoundCloud alternatives and upgrade our music platforms. SoundCloud has been the best music streaming service for years—the very first of its kind, where people genuinely engaged with music. Not like today’s flip and flops. We are talking about actual engagement. SoundCloud allows you to follow your favorite artists, and discover new music. Even for the creators, the platform is one of the easiest ways to create and distribute. However, not all users are seemed to be happy with the product. Users have pointed out, time and time again, that the platform doesn’t regularly feature new content. The users also miss an auto-off button on their playlist. Adding to that, some people have complaints against its plain-orange interface, which doesn’t let people consume the music the way other platforms do, like Spotify.

SoundCloud is evidently running out of innovations, and competition is way too tight to make any mistake. In this article, we will list our top 10 SoundCloud alternatives, on which you can enjoy your music and follow your favorites, fast and easy. Some of the suggestion will also cover your options for creating and distributing, for say podcasts or original music. Here is the list.

1. Spotify

Spotify is the most popular platform when it comes to music streaming services. The platform allows you to browse artists, and follow them. You can also use its powerful search to find the album, genre, record label, playlist—pretty much any kind of audio you are looking for. Spotify also encourages original content and features podcasts and independent music from the lesser-known artists. Talking about its interface, it has upgraded the way people consumed their music. it has very successfully created a Spotify experience, which is way ahead of its competition.

Spotify offers both free and premium membership to its users. The free version is pretty generous and it’s enough if you only want to stream your favorite music, make playlists and share it with your friends. At a minimal cost between $3 - $10, depending on your commitment, you can enjoy the full Spotify experience. The platform is available on all the major operating systems. At our list of SoundCloud alternatives, the Spotify experience deserves the top position.

2. Google Play Music

Google Play Music is very different from the way SoundCloud works. However, it is is a treat for people who have a Google account. The platform allows people to upload their music in a single library and gives them its access anywhere—everywhere, through all sort of devices. The platform also allows you to add your iTunes library and all your playlists in a single place. Google Play Music is an incredible SoundCloud alternative to keep all your music in one place. In addition to this, the platform allows you to stream music from its massive collection.

The platform supports web and has applications for all the major platforms. Google Play Music is free for use. However, the premium version is so much better, and it doesn’t cost much. For individual users, the premium is priced at $9.99, while the family version costs $14.99 for six users.

3. Deezer

Deezer is another top Internet-based streaming service that allows its users to listen and explore music from all the renowned record labels. The Deezer works on plenty of devices. It could be used both online and offline. In the offline mode, the platform accesses the already-downloaded music and creates a vivid experience. Currently, the platform has more than 40 million licensed tracks and 30,00 radio stations. That’s a lot of options for anyone. As per Dezzer, the platform caters to more than 16 million users, out of which 6 million are already subscribed to its premium version.

Deezer is available on all the major platforms. Its premium version costs between $6 to $9 per month depending on your commitment to the product.

4. Jamendo

Jamendo is a free and legal way to stream unlimited music. The catch is that the brand publishes under Creative Commons licenses. Arguably, this is the best streaming platform if you like discovering new and independent artists. The fact that almost everything on the platform comes at zero cost makes Jamendo an excellent option for people looking for sites like SoundCloud.

The platform features free streaming and best-quality downloads. It also has a section for royalty free background music. This means, even if you are a business, you can very well stream the music for commercial purposes, at no cost. However, the platform has a separate section called Jamendo Licensing which does have a price tag, and costs between $9.99 to $99 depending who is subscribing it; an individual or a brand.

5. Groove Music

Groove Music is a descendant of Zune and Xbox Music brands, which allows its users to stream millions of ad-free songs at a small subscription fee. The platform features radio station, which automatically creates mixes, based on your picks. Groove Music also allows you to download music offline. It has a direct integration with OneDrive that enable it to sync your music library across all your devices.

Today, Groove Music is one of the biggest music catalogs on the planet, which also features artist-based radio stations and curated playlists. It is one of the best alternatives for its wide range of digital streaming capabilities and a massive database.

6. TuneIn Radio

TuneIn Radio is the simplest way to turn your mobile phones into digital radio devices. It features the world’s biggest and most popular radio stations to its users. And if you are a sports fan, it doesn’t get better than this. You can follow your favorite stations and carry them wherever you go. Radio stations are not as monotonous as you might think. The platform has plenty of variety and incredible features that exponentially improves the radio streaming experience.

The reason it is our top list due to its availability across all the possible mainstream digital devices. No matter if you are on wearables, TVs, Tablets or mobile devices, TuneIn Radio ensures you have all your radio stations with you.

7. Pandora

It is one of the oldies. Founded in 2000, It is among the very first internet radios on the planet. Of course, Pandora started with an entirely different business model and earlier focused primarily on music distribution. The platform uses Music Genome Project which analyzes 400-attributes of audios to personalize your radio experience. By any standard, that’s too generous of them. When we tried the platform, we were surprised by the quality of the suggestion. The audio experience is streamed at 192K bits per second, however, it sounded premium to us.

The premium version of Pandora comes with many additional features that would upgrade your over-all experience. The subscription is priced at $4.99 per month. If you are into streaming internet-radios, this, with TuneIn Radio, would be our top alternatives for you if you are located in the United States.

8. YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a new music streaming service from Google. The platform takes advantage of its massive YouTube database and caters you the best of the both; audio and visual world. YouTube Music is a completely re-imagined platform that allows you to easily find your music and recommends you appropriate songs based on your taste. On the platform, it features a ‘Hotlist’—a list of trending songs on the platform, which is one more clever way to explore new music. It also features a strong search option. So, if you do not know the song’s name, you can search it with the lyrics or even describe it. Wonderful, isn’t it?

Powered by Google, the platform is reliable and carries all the music that you might like. It’s the future—definitely deserves a place on our list.

9. Apple Music

Since the beginning of Apple, one thing that stood out was its passion for music. Apparently, Apple understands music so well that it has created an incredible synced experience within its ecosystem. The only drawback is that Apple Music is fun only when you are in Apple’s ecosystem. Although, you can access the platform on other operating systems as well. It’s wonderful to browse through its interface and discover new songs and artists.

The subscription costs as much as any other alternatives on this list, but the experience is far richer. Individual plans at $9.99/Mo, and family plans at $14.99 per month.

10. Bandcamp

Bandcamp is a new age digital streaming platform that allows artists to sell their music and interact directly to fans. As a consumer, it helps you discover new artists and gives you the option to support them. When we checked their ‘fair trade music policy,’ we were impressed by the platform’s intent to maintain a fair and open relationship between creators and consumers.

Bandcamp clearly respects the creators under its program. By taking care of its creator, it has created an incredible experience for consumers to stream music of their choice. There are so many filters, and tags to help you get where you wish to. The platform has promised to stay free, and never entertain a paid subscription model. Moving from a climate of distrust and bullying, Bandcamp is a new watchdog for the new artists. We highly recommend it.

These were our top picks of SoundCloud alternatives. We have briefly explained their primary features and mentioned the prime reasons behind their selection. This list will help you find an apt platform for streaming music and discovering new artists.

Do you agree with our list, or do you think we have missed one of your favorite music streaming platforms? Do let us know in the comments. Also, to get instant tech updates, Follow TechNadu’s Facebook page, and Twitter handle.