SoundCloud, the audio hosting platform, announced Wednesday, May 25th that it will partner with LANDR, a music optimization service to offer users audio mastering capabilities.
Audio mastering is the process by which an audio track is prepared for distribution and transferred to the master source; a CD, server or USB. All professionally produced music goes through a post-production optimization process.
In its announcement SoundCloud said: “we’re excited to announce a partnership with LANDR that opens up professional quality mastering for creators on SoundCloud. And the best part is that it’s free for all SoundCloud creators.”
LANDR created a new optimization format specifically designed for SoundCloud Streaming. Creators will be allowed to master as many tracks as they like in the new format for free.
However users with a free plan on SoundCloud will only be able to master one track using LANDR’s high-res WAV format. Pro Plan users will be allowed to master two tracks in high-res and the Pro Unlimited Plan users will be allowed to master four tracks.
Music producer Christopher Matsumoto, a.k.a MC C.B. from Ronkonkoma, New York said he uses LANDR every now and then; “It’s a drag and drop [application], very convenient for the musician on the go.” Matsumoto isn’t as convinced about SoundCloud though. “I find a lot of people leaving SoundCloud to stay with BandCamp or just Youtube,” Matsumoto said.
SoundCloud also announced Wednesday that they would be partnering with Stagelight, a music production android app for phones, tablets, laptops and desktops. The app comes with various music production tools and tutorials for beginner users.
Under the partnership Stagelight will now include a native function allowing users to upload music creations directly to SoundCloud for hosting and sharing.
This announcement comes after the launch of SoundCloud Go in late March. The subscription based music streaming service which includes a library of licensed music for subscribers to listen to. It’s similar to Spotify except critics have said that SoundCloud Go has a smaller library selection when you take away the user uploaded content.
SoundCloud Go is $10 a month, $12 for IOS users. As of Wednesday’s announcement the service is $1.99 for Pro Unlimited Plan users on SoundCloud.
Featured Image Via Flickr/Ashton 6460
