SoundCloud

I’ve used SoundCloud for quite a while to download live mixes from a lot of DJs I really like.  The upload interface is really easy, and you can edit details about the audio file while it’s uploading still.  You can set album art, choose who you’d like to give access to the file and if you want the original to be downloadable.  Plus, SoundCloud generates a really nifty waveform for your audio file which is awesome.  With the free account, I have to mention you are limited to 120 minutes though.  With DJ mixes this is pretty low since it’s only two hours and most mixes are over an hour at least.  Plus, you can only blast your track to 20 contacts with their promote functionality they have built in.  One feature I do like is the ability to create “Sets” which you can put the audio file into and group them together.  But then again, on the free account you’re limited to only 3.

Pros: Nice interface, ability to download original, nice widgets
Cons: Upload limit too small, reporting only available to paid users

Mixcloud

Mixcloud works a little bit differently.  It’s primarily focused on radio shows, podcasts and DJ mixes, not individual tracks.  The cool thing is the interface is simple and intuitive.  You upload the track, give some basic details and save.  One thing Mixcloud wants you to do though is provide the actual tracks and artists, which I assume is to give credit back to the original artist and link to them on iTunes or a similar service which I don’t mind.  Plus it’s nice to let users know what each song is within your mix.  They also got some small promotion tools such as posting to Facebook and Twitter which is cool.  My biggest complaint is the file size limit.  They claim to only want to allow longer types of audio files such as DJ mixes but with a 100MB file limit this isn’t going to happen.

Pros: Simple, easy to use, promotion tools
Cons: 100MB file size limit, flash player is kind of boring

That’s my initial review of using these services for DJ mixes.  If anyone knows anything that also is out there drop me a line.

I tested a few of the services and although I have used Last.fm and Pandora for years now, I need something that integrates well into a blog utilizing a widget which Pandora and Last.fm do not do very well in my honest opinion.  Here are the few I tried:

• Imeem
• Lala
• SoundCloud
• 8tracks
• Grooveshark

Out of all of these, I found SoundCloud to be the most comprehensive with the best catalog of electronic music.  Note below how you get a nice looking widget as well as a spectrogram and even comments built right into the widget.  This is great for when someone can’t identify a track within a mix.  Only downside is if I wish to upload my own tracks I need to have a pro account which starts at $12/month USD for 15 uploads per month.  Guess that ain’t bad.

P-rez & Sleazy McQueen Live @ Frisky 6.19.09 in Fresno at Veni Vidi Vici: