this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2025
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Piracy: ꜱᴀɪʟ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜ ꜱᴇᴀꜱ

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Just asking what everyone thinks of the platform. I rarely listen to music, but it seems like spotify but community edition.
There are paid features but I don't seem to need them (Desktop only user), no DRM protection so I can download if I want, site is not heavy on my humble resources.

This post is just asking if Soundcloud is something I should talk positively about. Moral compass in the high seas.

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[–] Dreaming_Novaling@lemmy.zip 24 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I've never used Bandcamp, but that is like the only place I would consider giving money to. On Friday's all profits go directly to the creators themselves, and you own the music. Idk if they use DRM, but they have several audio/encoding options.

Like others said, if you're gonna pirate, then pirate, but if you do wanna give people money then Bandcamp is best. Especially since you're not streaming music when pirating (or at least not from a public service)

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 2 days ago (1 children)

There’s no drm on band camp

[–] lka1988@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago

Bingo. I bought an album on Bandcamp and dropped it right into my Plex server.

[–] TwiddleTwaddle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Its only a few Fridays each year when bandcamp doesnt take their cut, but I try to only buy albums there on those days.

[–] realitista@piefed.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

If you're using something like Bandcamp, the artists are already getting thousands of times the money you are giving them from listening on Spotify, I think it's good enough. Even iTunes is thousands of times better.

[–] AppearanceBoring9229@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's right, a friend told me that he gets a lot more from a single purchase on bandcamp, that from spotify

[–] Ilandar@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

Spotify earnings are abysmal for anyone other than the biggest artists. Here's a couple of musicians discussing it.

And the Bandcamp team deserves their cut for making that happen.

Unlike the Spotify team.

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

If you like electronic music SoundCloud has the most dj sets out there imo

I agree but mixcloud isn't far behind it I don't reckon. Especially as they used to have unlimited free uploads. I have 60 or more mixes on there myself and I'm just a bedroom DJ

[–] zaknenou@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

I actually was looking to download this (which I heard in a video from bilibili) and stumbled upon it here: https://soundcloud.com/ball-hakurei/vocal-eastnewsound-1st
found it on spotify too, but couldn't download.
Eventually I've found higher quality here (9th in the list): https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/hiirogekka-kyoushou-no-zetsu-10th-anniversary-2017

[–] DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 10 points 2 days ago (2 children)

As far as a moral compass goes, I wouldn't give any money to SoundCloud. Much like YouTube, anyone can create an account and upload music. Obviously if you upload popular copyrighted music, it will likely get taken down quickly. But the less popular it is, the more likely it'll go under the radar if someone uploads music that isn't theirs. If you don't pay for premium, then that music will have ads playing between tracks. The creator of the music won't see any money from it, I doubt the uploader would either. As it currently stands, SoundCloud profits from stolen music. Personally I feel better pirating music than I would paying for a SoundCloud premium. I honestly don't understand how GrooveShark got shut down back in the day, yet SoundCloud got to keep running. They are damn near the same exact service.

[–] TheTurner@lemmy.zip 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

On a side note, I love your show. I'm a huge fan.

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[–] DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz 4 points 1 day ago

For your music!

[–] zaknenou@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

hmm, makes sense. I guess I'll keep using it with adblocker then. Felt kinda guilty cuz it has been handy for me for years whenever I think about music. Also was curious what the general consensus looks like. Like what the music community and artists think

[–] rozodru@piefed.social 4 points 2 days ago

I mean...why? you said yourself there's paid stuff that you're not going to use so just use soulseek if you're going to be downloading anyways.

I dont' use any music streaming service because the artists get paid peanuts and won't see my dime when I use them. so i'll support them more directly. Take your money, buy your favourite artists shirt or other merch.

[–] wshrader@lemmy.today 1 points 1 hour ago

SoundCloud is a place for high school kids to form a career. So, no.