# SoundCloud 20 Hacker News commenters recommended SoundCloud and 39 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months; owners who said how long report a median of 7 years (5 owners). **Verdict:** People recommend SoundCloud for finding new music through DJ sets and artist uploads, but critics say it hides or deletes music after cancellation and blocks some users. ## Why people recommend it - Finding new music and DJ sets (4 comments): "its better and free as well as you tend to get more freedom exploring content from new artist" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49849937)) "The third best way is at home, with great headphones, and soundcloud/youtube dj sets." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45837421)) "Soundcloud one of my primary sources for finding music I enjoy, via DJ sets" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47385873)) - Artist uploads and exclusive tracks (4 comments): "It has been used in SoundCloud and also via streaming services/releases via DistroKid." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48592160)) "a lot of artists have set up MP3 downloads for their music there" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48413315)) "I love the service and the musicians I have met there." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47651011)) - Social feed and timestamp comments (2 comments): "I actually love SoundCloud's timestamp based comments." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49884235)) "Their best feature is social feed" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46787962)) - Free tier and ad-free Go+ (2 comments): "its better and free as well as you tend to get more freedom exploring content from new artist" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49849937)) "The problems with the adblocking stopped after i switched to Soundcloud Go+." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45814573)) ## What people warn about - Hides or deletes music after cancelling (3 comments): "They first hide your songs and as time goes on they start threaten to delete your songs if you dont pay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46784200)) "Once you cancel they then hold all your music hostage by hiding it and later threat to delete it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46783575)) "silent deletes favorites and also blocks songs based on your vpn/geo location" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46789325)) - Aggressive copyright claims on mixes (2 comments): "Soundcloud would be completely irrelevant if they did a good-enough job at enforcing copyright" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47359381)) "Soundcloud has very aggressive copyright claims which is a problem for mixes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932733)) - Bot detection and VPN blocking (2 comments): "Crappy bot detection. You can be sure I'm never paying for such a hostile service." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272834)) "silent deletes favorites and also blocks songs based on your vpn/geo location" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46789325)) - Data use and partner sharing concerns (4 comments): "When I installed the SoundCloud app - for the first time on a new device, that's what's it said: 954 partners." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47775501)) "SoundCloud will end up pissing off their paying customers and AI bots will still be able to scrape." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46270541)) "the lack of care for using past data for active accounts doesn't paint them in a very good light" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46790176)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Spotify](https://hackerapproved.com/p/spotify.md): 299 recommend - [Apple Music](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-music.md): 131 recommend - [Tidal](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tidal.md): 48 recommend - [Qobuz](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qobuz.md): 31 recommend - [Pandora](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pandora.md): 29 recommend ## Where to get it - [Visit the official site](https://soundcloud.com/) ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "SoundCloud", https://hackerapproved.com/p/soundcloud/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).