SoundCloud appears to be "dead", a zombie site

[Snaxster]

This week I submitted a service ticket to SoundCloud, but have yet to receive a reply. In years past, they would respond to tickets or inquiries quickly. To me it feels as if the lights are on, but nobody's home. I think that SoundCloud is effectively a zombie site now.

It's sad, since they had a good thing, but didn't learn how to monetize it as the market changed. Even Bandcamp, which is a much better service in terms of functionality and commerce (for artists and customers both) keeps being sold like a trading card. Tough market to crack, I guess. I don't even blame it on Spotify, whose business model is different. But it might have an inhibitive effect on self-distribution.

Anyway, here is what I wrote to SoundCloud:

Recently, using the old upload page at soundcloud.com, my uploads are being blocked. Apparently this is at least partly because I am using a VPN. My recollection is that previously I was able to upload while using a VPN.

May I add that various functionality at soundcloud.com has degraded noticeably during the past several months. Each of the following is reliably repeatable:

On page load, the notification icon always shows a red badge, whether or not I have any new notifications (which almost always I do not)

After clicking the notification or upload icons, it takes about 26 seconds for the drop down list of notifications or the body of the upload page to appear

On dragging and dropping a local audio file onto the upload page, the captcha challenge appears. On completing the captcha, the upload page is reloaded, but incorrectly reports that the audio file type is invalid. Reloading the upload page then re-dropping a local audio file onto it then correctly uploads the file (unless the website simply blocks the upload, ostensibly because a VPN is in use).

I understand that, as everyone else is, you are trying to balance the need for security with the need for usability. To that end, the captcha workflow is understandable; but the file type error is not. Similarly, the scrutiny of IP addresses is understandable; but effectively denying users their reasonable means of self defense (by use of a VPN) is at best counterintuitive and at worst unreasonable.

In light of these matters, I found that newly the only control I had of my content on SoundCloud was to delete it. So that is what I did.

Considering whether to become a paid subscriber again, I realized that I cannot rely on the website to enable the most basic functionality for me, and so I have no incentive to re-subscribe.

When your service works well, it is quite good. Please fix these problems so I can have reason to re-subscribe. I will check the website periodically. Thank you.

 

[Markmann]

I gave up on SC a while ago. I hope Bandcamp keeps rolling because I really like that site.

 

[Spidey2112]

I had a co-worker who was really obsessed with Napster, before their cease and desist.

I happened to walk by his car one night... Mclean's 'American Pie' was playing on his car stereo, and in no way, shape or form was I going to be present, when, '... the day, the music... died.' started playing.

 

[Shepsdad]

I haven’t used SoundCloud for several years, I think I deleted everything off of it. I got sick of being spammed immediately after uploading a new song. I’ve been using soundclick for years, and never had a problem. It’s not as well known as SoundCloud, but served the same purpose, for me anyway, without the instant avalanche of spam.

 

[bholder]

Oh no! I've got everything on SoundCloud - I'd better go download everything to safe storage again...

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Used to use that and myspace way back in the day.

 

[kbraker510]

I have a friend that was employed there in the tech end of things. A couple years ago it got all toxic and dysfunctional from what i understand, they let go a significant amount of important employees in essential roles. Sounded like corporate mismanagement of resources and funds.

 

[callofcthulhu]

Soundcloud is doing just fine, it's cultivated the emergence of several niche genres to mainstream popularity and AFAIK has not announced any financial difficulties.

The "safety" benefits of using a VPN are vastly overstated, and the kind of latency issues you're experiencing are typical of their use.

Have you considered that the issue might be the the location of the server you've chosen (or had chosen for you) to be routed through? Or even with your VPN app/service itself?

 

[Boneless]

I have a friend that was employed there in the tech end of things. A couple years ago it got all toxic and dysfunctional from what i understand, they let go a significant amount of important employees in essential roles. Sounded like corporate mismanagement of resources and funds.

I love how "fired", or if you want to be more charitable, "laid off" becomes "let go" in corporate speak.

 

[Snaxster]

Soundcloud is doing just fine, it's cultivated the emergence of several niche genres to mainstream popularity and AFAIK has not announced any financial difficulties.

The "safety" benefits of using a VPN are vastly overstated, and the kind of latency issues you're experiencing are typical of their use.

Have you considered that the issue might be the the location of the server you've chosen (or had chosen for you) to be routed through? Or even with your VPN app/service itself?

I cannot reconcile my recent experience of trying to use the SoundCloud service and communicate with the company's tech support with the idea that the company is doing just fine. If it were my company, I would consider reports of such customer experience to be hard evidence of how not fine my company was doing.

The kind of latency I'm experiencing on SoundCloud is entirely atypical among the variety of websites I visit.

My VPN server locations vary, but all are geographically local to me.

 

[kbraker510]

I love how "fired", or if you want to be more charitable, "laid off" becomes "let go" in corporate speak.

Ive heard there "Reconsidered role examination " used before

 

[callofcthulhu]

I cannot reconcile my recent experience of trying to use the SoundCloud service and communicate with the company's tech support with the idea that the company is doing just fine. If it were my company, I would consider reports of such customer experience to be hard evidence of how not fine my company was doing.

The kind of latency I'm experiencing on SoundCloud is entirely atypical among the variety of websites I visit.

My VPN server locations vary, but all are geographically local to me.

Really? You think a support ticket from an atypical user going unacknowledged is indicative of the company not having enough resources, and NOT of just how massive its userbase is?

Have you tried filing a customer support ticket with Google lately?

 

[Snaxster]

Really? You think a support ticket from an atypical user going unacknowledged is indicative of the company not having enough resources, and NOT of just how massive its userbase is?

Given my OP, I have no idea what you're talking about. Good luck.