The DJ contest organised as part of the mUZIC.radio festival is in full swing: at this very moment, the committee of 5 DJing experts is evaluating the 10 best artists selected by our programmers. 2 other artists are due to join the shortlist very shortly! Let’s skip over the audio files that weren’t selected and focus on a point that would save everyone a lot of time. Dear artists, why not think about (1) activating downloads on Soundcloud and (2) generating an RSS feed with all the tracks broadcast on your page ?

All too often we still receive registration forms that are well filled out, but with links to Soundcloud that don’t allow the audio files to be downloaded directly from the platform. The undersigned has spent a lot of time trying to understand why artists in search of recognition are somewhat reluctant to make their dj-sets available for download.

We’ve got some answers, and before you get your hopes up, at least read the arguments and Soundcloud tutorials below. From our point of view, it’s a win-win situation!

(1) Activating downloads on Soundcloud

After asking several artists why they don’t make their music available for download on Soundcloud, here are the 2 main categories of response I received:

• ‘I don’t want them to download my music for free, I’d rather they generate more listens on Soundcloud!‘ A line of reasoning that seems coherent and understandable, but turns out to be partly wrong. At Odiolab, we’re lucky enough to have a fair amount of data on audio files, streaming music and podcasts available for download. While podcasts are a format that does not generally lend itself well to manual downloading onto a device, I have observed a small but constant proportion of downloads requested for several identified episodes. Clearly, these podcast episodes have stood out from the crowd and continue to be requested for download by some Internet users several months after they were first broadcast. Why deprive aficionados of an audio download that they intend to listen to again and potentially share with others? Please your most committed, loyal audience, who are likely to return the favour (i.e. new listeners, interactions on social media, etc.). The ultimate goal of a DJ is to make a living from his or her art, and the Soundcloud listen counter will do less to help you achieve this than your most loyal fans, who form the heart of your community as you build it up.
• ‘How do you activate downloads on Soundcloud again?’ That’s a good question! Here’s a reminder.

How to activate downloads on Soundcloud

After logging in to your Soundcloud account, go to the page presenting your audio. Click on the “pencil button” to edit your title.

With the Edit view enabled, go to the ‘Permissions’ menu and select ‘Enable direct downloads’. Don’t forget to save your changes at the bottom of the page!

Back on the page presenting the audio, click on the […] button and the “Download a file” option will appear.

(2) Generating an RSS feed on Soundcloud

Another TOP option for your biggest fans. At UZIC, we love receiving the RSS feed of an artist whose music we like, as it gives us direct access to each new track added to the feed, without the need for additional information from the DJ or tedious actions such as downloading, then re-uploading to the radio’s cloud. We can only encourage anyone to activate the RSS feed as follows on Soundcloud:

Once you’ve logged into your Soundcloud page, click on the […] button at the top right of the screen, then choose the ‘Settings’ sub-menu at the bottom of the list.

Then go to the ‘Content’ menu to refine the RSS feed information and confirm the default upload settings.

NB: in Soundcloud, the RSS feed can be activated independently of your audio downloads, the choice is yours.

That said, I’d like to encourage all electronic artists from Switzerland and the surrounding area to take part in the DJ contest at the mUZIC.radio festival, which runs from 18 August to 16 September 2025 in Lausanne and Geneva. You have until 10 August to send in your music. Perhaps you’ll be selected by the committee of experts to come and mix at one of the 8 free public events organised during mUZIC.radio and/or programme your good music on FM radio.

As good old Jack used to say: in fan school, there are only winners!