Planning To Upload Songs

[Will_Cid]

Hi, I am planning to upload a song and maybe some more afterwards. Aside from the guide available from the Smule blog, I want to ask for starting tips from the group, especially the uploaders. What good did uploading do to you or to your Smule account, if ever? 

Thanks. 

[opentype]

12 hours ago, Will_Cid said:

What good did uploading do to you or to your Smule account, if ever?

As you know, after joining a song you are offered to follow the uploader. So, creating uploads can increase the follower count. But that really depends on the songs you upload. If the song is rarely known or 20 versions of the song already exist, no one might see your upload. It will also depend on the genre and the type of upload. For example, I might follow someone who creates high-quality acoustic versions they recorded themselves, but not somehow who just stripped the vocals from a popular song. 

[ItsMeRKSinger]

3 hours ago, opentype said:

As you know, after joining a song you are offered to follow the uploader. So, creating uploads can increase the follower count. But that really depends on the songs you upload. If the song is rarely known or 20 versions of the song already exist, no one might see your upload. It will also depend on the genre and the type of upload. For example, I might follow someone who creates high-quality acoustic versions they recorded themselves, but not somehow who just stripped the vocals from a popular song. 

Well, to be honest, those continuous popups that come up after each singing asking you of the quality of track and to follow the uploader are annoying. They could better integrate it in the song review screen itself (where we check after recording) so that all goes in one click when hitting the continue button.

[Wishchip]

As opentype said, creating uploads can increase your follower count if it's a good upload and that users respond well to. I'm certain that at least half of my followers are due to my uploads.

For me personally, I tend to upload my own versions of songs when I just can't find (what I consider to be) the "right" upload of a song. Either the lyrics are wrong, the timing is off, the recording is lousy, or the split isn't intuitive or seemingly well-thought out. So for me, it's the peace of mind in knowing that I've put up a quality upload that I can sing along with. If other people find one of my uploads (especially on a popular song that already has many different versions on Smule) and they like it, that's cool, but it's certainly not my main reason for doing so.

And just remember, some of the most popular uploads aren't popular because they're good necessarily, it's just because they've been around the longest. For instance, Smule's own "official" upload of "Love Shack" by the B-52's is pretty bad, with incorrect lyrics and incorrect assigned parts. But it's the most popular upload, with a 90% rating and 5.9K votes, so it's always at the top of the list.

Here are a few tips I've come across in the less than two years I've been uploading, though I appreciate lots of uploaders don't concern themselves with these things:

Double check the lyrics. It's astonishing how many lyrics are listed wrong online. It's like one site publishes the incorrect lyrics to a song and then every other site copies their mistakes. I will use online lyrics as a start, but then go through them with a fine-tooth comb later, even on songs I'm really familiar with.

Be thoughtful when assigning parts. Think about when singers need to take a break, what makes lyrical sense, what feels fun and dynamic, and what's the most fair for both singers. Don't leave all the best parts for Singer 1, as tough as that can be.

Watch your timing. When editing timing, I always have to anticipate when a line will "hit" by pressing the space bar about a half second before I want any given line to hit. My favourite uploads are the ones that have really confident scroll lines, where I never have to second guess when I'm supposed to come in. I don't need a giant 3-2-1 countdown like I've seen on some uploads, I just need to know that the upload knows what it's doing, and that's it's never too early or too late.

Be transparent with different versions. This one's a little niche, but I like to upload different edits of songs if they're my favourites, like radio edits or music video edits. And not only will I make sure to label the song "Music Video Version" or whatever, but I also try to add a quick note at the beginning of the lyrics saying "[This music video version has a shorter ending]" or "[This radio edit trims the intro, the outro, the guitar solo and completely removes the bridge.]" I don't think people really care about that kind of stuff, but if someone is going to try out one of my uploads, then at least they know what they're getting into right from the start.

Not a thing I care about, but if you want to be a popular uploader:

Create a brand. There are reasons why people know names like The Inga, Frenchie A, Braderjocky and HairMetalMayhem...and regardless of the quality of their uploads, it's because they've created a brand by including their names in the song titles, or use the same cover art featuring their name for all their uploads, or other eye-catching tactics. People will know your name the more they see it, and the best way of doing it is to plaster it everywhere you can.