Are you uploading consistently but struggling to attract more listeners? Are you curious how tagging can help your rank higher on the Mixcloud Charts? Then this article is for you. To some, this might sound like pretty basic advice. But getting your tags right is an easy and sure-fire way to get more listens on your Mixcloud content.
Tags, explained
Let’s take it back to basics. What is a tag? Tags are a way to categorize your content. Whether it be a new show you upload or a live stream you’re about to host. There are countless global communities connecting on Mixcloud, and tags are your way to uncover and be discovered by those networks.
We want to make sure as many scenes around the world feel seen and appreciated. That’s why we recognize over 1000 genres in our database. In addition to having hundreds of genre charts to help your music travel further.
On a more technical level, tags ensure your content gets filtered into the right categories. But also where your shows and live streams are discovered. In other words, if you take extra care with your tags it will translate to more listeners. It’s a no brainer, right?
How to Tag your Shows:
So, you’ve recorded your first mix and you’re ready to upload it. First of all, think about the genres you’ve covered and jot them down. After you’ve added a title for the mix, you’ll be prompted to input up to five genre tags (which is the limit). Start typing the tag you’re looking for and you’ll see a drop down menu of suggested genres.
We recommend using as many accurate genre tags for each upload as this will maximize the discoverability of your shows. It’s important these are always representative of the music in the show. Otherwise it will backfire; a Folk show filled with only Drum & Bass tunes will not go down well.
When you’re picking your tags, we recommend a combination of broader genres such as Techno or Bass and club music. As well as more specific tags like Future Bass or Acid Techno. This not only shows your listeners exactly what to expect, but gives your show a better chance of ranking in the 495 charts we have on Mixcloud. Read on to find out more about the Charts and how they work. As well as music genres, there are tags for topics (e.g. ‘comedy’) or the format of your show as a whole (e.g ‘vinyl only’ or ‘multi-genre’).
Now that you’ve added your tags and you’ve uploaded your show, let’s talk more about where those tags show up and how they can help you get discovered and grow your community. Your show’s tags not only appear alongside the show itself, but they also funnel your content to the pages where users are searching for music. Here’s where your shows may appear:
Feed
Tags show up to give anyone browsing the feed an instant impression of the show’s vibe. They also help listeners find what they’re looking for.
Discover pages
This area of Mixcloud – found by clicking ‘Categories’ on the desktop homepage – is essentially a search engine for everything on the platform. Search all of Mixcloud using a specific genre, non-music tag, or location and you’ll land on all the shows under that category. So if you spin a lot of Amapiano, and want to reach more fans of this music, make sure your tags are on point. Top tip: Say you enjoyed a particular show, click on the tag to discover the other sounds in that category – each genre has its own Discover page.
“Popular Shows” (found on Discover pages)
Now here’s where it gets exciting. Tags enable your shows to rank in any of our 391 genre charts on the platform. These are titled ‘Popular Shows’ at the bottom of genre-specific Discover pages. Not only is it a badge of honor to hit #1 in the Charts, but the more you consistently promote your shows on your social channels to keep the momentum up, the more likely you are to gain new listeners. Learn more about how the Charts work and how to get the best chart position here.
How to tag your live streams
Tags aren’t just useful for your shows, they can help others on Mixcloud find your live streams too! Once you’re ready to go live, you can add tags on the stream set-up page the same way as you would when uploading a show. Type a tag and a selection of suggested genres will appear – you can choose up to five.
Live streaming has become so popular in this ever-evolving digital age and allows you to connect with people in places all over the world. There are fans of Neo-Soul in so many corners of the globe, so if you want to be more connected and find fans on a global scale then streaming your DJ sets and shows is the way to go. Did you know with Mixcloud you can stream legally without worries of muting or takedowns? Learn how to set up your first live stream here.
In our database, we categorize each tag into an umbrella genre. For instance, in the image above, Dub Techno falls under the general category of Techno. When listeners browse the Mixcloud Live homepage, they can see every live stream currently active on the platform. By hitting ‘Filter By’, they can filter that list by one of these umbrella genres. Then they will only see the live streams in that category.
For instance, a Techno fan might filter by Techno and see every live stream tagged, not only with Techno, but also related genres like Acid Techno, Ghettotech, Dub Techno and more. By tagging your live streams with our recognised genre tags, you can maximize the chance of your stream being discovered. It will have viewers signposted towards your shows, boosting the number of people who tune in!
A quick note on custom tags
We know it’s impossible for us to account for every possible genre or tag that you might want to use – music scenes move faster than any platform can ! As such, we allow creators to type in custom tags if they can’t find what they’re looking for in our genre database. We also provide auto-complete suggestions for custom tags based on what other users have tagged in the past.
Where possible, we always recommend using at least some of our recognised genre tags since these will have the biggest impact on your shows and live streams being discovered and might have their own charts. For instance, even if our recommended tag may not be the exact spelling that you’d usually use for a genre, it’s still a good idea to use it so that you can be discovered alongside similar shows.
We would also recommend against using custom tags which are already represented in your show title or your artist name, as your show will already appear in search if someone types in those words. In the future we will be revisiting our tags, as we’re sure many more genres will emerge as time goes on, so when the time comes please do share any feedback on new genres we should add onto our database.
But for now – happy tagging!