What is the current etiquette for users of the Smule app? The Do's and Don't's?

[Maria D]

I didn't use Smule for a long time because I was busy with my family/ lockdowns etc. I have been singing again and enjoy it but there seems to be unwritten rules on following people and joining an OC. Thanking joiners? What is the current etiquette? I just want to sing but I don't know what current Smule users find annoying.
There seem to be all these unwritten rules that others seem to know. I'm learning as I sing on the app, as some Smule singers will mention certain things but I don't want to do something out of ignorance that is considered annoying by most Smule singers.

[opentype]

Personally, I would say: just use your own best judgement. You say it yourself: you just want to sing and not join an exclusive club that forces rules on you. 

In the end, you will find a big spectrum. From people not commenting at all to people thanking others for each and every join. Or following back everyone or no one. And everything in-between. 

The problem with the unwritten rules is that they are clearly not universally known or accepted and might depend on certain niches and regions. We had long discussions on Sing.Salon about some of them. For example: Some apparently understand the use of the like button as code for “I have listened to this”. But I would never adopt that even after learning about it. 

[Maria D]

Gee, I didn't know that the like button was code for listening. I use it when I listen to a song and I like it.

For example, I had a female join my OC's. She's Aussie like me. I returned the favour and sang on her OC's that I knew. She liked a lot of my OC's and I liked hers too. I had work stuff to do the past week and when I went to sing today I noticed that she had blocked me. I don't know if I broke some unwritten rule in Smule or do some singers just block other singers for no reason. I do invites each week but not every day.
I am slowing gaining a following as I sing more songs, but I don't have 20k followers. That's not my goal.
I am on the app to sing, but it seems like a lot of singers have a lot of followers and want to sing with other singers with massive followings. One female mentioned to me that I need more followers and should only join OC's where the singer has a lot of followers. Smule used to be about singing.

Sorry for my long response. I am just trying to sing and I guess it's a bit disheartening to see so many are just interested in just getting followers.

[DuetWithAlli]

I came here to download some of my songs, and saw this topic. Just can’t help but weigh in. Take my advice with a grain of salt, as I have probably p.o.‘ed my fair share of users. Each person has their own rules, some written and some unwritten, as you have noticed. My advice is, do what makes you happy. If you want someone who will listen and comment, and maybe even sing with you too, seek out that kind of person. But if you just want to sing and not be bothered, maybe join people who are super popular and thus, won’t listen to your joins or try to interact with you in any way. 
 

Personally, I don’t mind if people mass like my invites (whether they listened or not), and I try to return the favor. But it annoys me when people mass like my recordings with others, and I find a lot of others are annoyed by the same. If I like singing with them, I’ll kindly ask people not to mass like my recordings (or any other activity that annoys me, for that matter). If it’s someone I sing with, but I’m not particularly crazy about, I might temporarily block to remove from my followers. People who don’t sing with me are likely fishing for followers or playing some kind of game, and I will block them and not feel bad about it.
 

tldr; everyone has their own set of rules, written or unwritten. Do what makes you happy, but unfortunately, I feel like we have to accept that if we break someone’s rules, we may be informed kindly and given a chance to get with the program, we may be informed unkindly, or we may be informed with a block. 

 

[Maria D]

Thank you for replying. The mass like of invite recordings with others just happened this week. I agree with you. I think some are looking for followers and have no intention of ever singing with me. 
That's why I joined the app to sing because it makes me happy not to become popular or have thousands of followers. I like to seek out people that think similar to me. Thankfully I am weeding out the ones you mentioned. 

Edited May 25, 2023 by Maria D
Typo

[sdr]

On 5/22/2023 at 11:35 PM, Maria D said:

Gee, I didn't know that the like button was code for listening. I use it when I listen to a song and I like it.

Use the Like button to indicate that you have listened to a join, unless the joiner has performed so bad that the join doesn't deserve it.

One or more comments are much appreciated and give a personal touch to your listening. 

[Maria D]

I actually tested this last week. I made a very bad recording with static, no singing. I received a lot of likes.🤨

One person said amazing singing???

Quite a few of these people just wanted me to follow them I guess or like their song too. Only difference is I actually listen to songs first before I like them. 
 

 

[DuetWithAlli]

19 hours ago, Maria D said:

I actually tested this last week. I made a very bad recording with static, no singing. I received a lot of likes.🤨

One person said amazing singing???

Quite a few of these people just wanted me to follow them I guess or like their song too. Only difference is I actually listen to songs first before I like them. 
 

 

Those are probably from people who are in groups and/or support chats. They are required to like and comment on each other’s recordings. I try to avoid people who do this, and try not to encourage them to sing with me. They couldn’t care less about me, they’re only interested in increasing their own popularity (or more accurately, the popularity of the group leadership).
 

 

 

[Maria D]

Agree with you! I am learning to avoid these people. Thanks for replying!

[sdr]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:08 AM, Maria D said:

I received a lot of likes.

If you receive more than 4 or 5 likes in a few hours, you can conclude that it is from the members of a group. As a rule, they don't listen to your rec and it's a waste following them or joining them. Otherwise, the likes are genuine and follow or join them after browsing through their profiles.

The free gifts are also sent as tokens of appreciation. Though they are free, the receiver knows that you have taken time to send them and the act is appreciated. You can send two or more free gifts to let the partner know that you liked the join very much. Say five 💥💥💥💥💥 for a five star performance. 😁The paid gifts are also an option if you plan to spend more money purchasing them. They can also make your partners feel discriminated. So use them wisely.

 

Edited May 30, 2023 by sdr

[realyquick]

It's polite to hit the like button and maybe give a free gift to everyone who's joined you, even if you can't bear listening to the whole join because it's terribly off-tune or off-beat 😁

Joins which you like probably need a comment as well, and if you really like it that might merit a follow, and if you really really like it then you could join that person back 😀

People are sensitive and might unfollow you after an underwhelming response from you, but that's ok if you didn't particularly care to listen to them. It's a hobby not a career.

Other people are egotistical, and may give fake praise without listening to your join because they want you to keep joining them so they get lots of joins (even if they don't want to listen to them) and lots of followers (even if those followers can't carry a tune) 😁 That gives them the opportunity to be a rock star in their own imagination 😂