Pendium

Step 1 of 9

SoundCloud owns the independent creator category in AI discovery, with over 85% visibility for artist-focused queries.

Here is the read on how you're compounding your lead as the default platform for the next wave of music culture.

SoundCloud's baseline score
88/100
Excellent

SoundCloud maintains an exceptional visibility score, functioning as the primary recommendation for independent music hosting and discovery. While mainstream giants like Spotify lead on general listening, SoundCloud is the uncontested leader for creator-centric and underground queries.

What we see
  • SoundCloud is a 'reference brand' in the streaming category, meaning AI models use it as a benchmark for social features.
  • Heavy presence in Reddit communities like r/makingmusic and r/djing ensures constant mentions in community-weighted models like Gemini.
  • AIO scores are boosted by strong Wikipedia data and years of SEO-dominant artist profiles appearing in search results.
  • The brand is consistently mentioned alongside Bandcamp for independent distribution but often loses to Spotify for 'general' listening prompts.
  • AI agents have a clear understanding of the 'Next Pro' tier and often recommend it to aspiring artists asking about hosting.
Business goals SoundCloud is likely trying to hit
  • Convert free creators to SoundCloud Next Pro subscribers
  • Increase listener engagement with exclusive independent content
  • Defend market share against YouTube Music and Spotify's discovery features
  • Position SoundCloud for Artists as the central hub for music distribution