SoundCloud has launched a new set of playlists named “Buzzing Playlists” to highlight up-and-coming tracks from artists.
It has pop, hip-hop, R&B, and electronic music playlists, and includes tracks from artists participating in SoundCloud's Next Pro paid subscription program. SoundCloud said it looks at signals such as repeat plays, playlist additions, likes, comments, and reposts to add tracks to Buzzing Playlists, which are updated weekly.
Last year, the company launched its First Fans program, which suggests new songs to people in autoplay mode to help artists reach the first 100 listeners with a new release. The company says it will use machine learning to match people's music tastes to song profiles and suggest the top songs from the experiment to 1,000 users.
The company said it has analyzed more than 3.5 million songs since releasing First Fans in June 2023. He said that because of this feature, the number of listeners for Next Pro artists has increased by 400%.
The company said that tracks featured on the Buzzing Playlist may be further highlighted on SoundCloud charts or editorial playlists based on their performance.
Buzzing Playlists feels like SoundCloud's take on Spotify's Discover Weekly playlists, but the latter suggests music you've never heard before based on your listening history.