Skip to main content

SoundCloud hopes to add listeners with 50 percent discount for students

Who’s got time for music? Young people. Without the crushing demands of a full-time job, or trying to raise a family, they’re free to spend a lot more of their time listening to music. On the other hand, they tend to have the least amount of disposable income. It’s a realization that virtually every music streaming platform came to ages ago and acknowledged it by adding student plans to their mix of prices. Well, every streaming platform but SoundCloud. Still, better late than never, and now SoundCloud is offering college and university students 50 percent off a SoundCloud Go+ membership, which drops the price to $5 a month.

Regularly priced at $10 per month, SoundCloud Go+ is the company’s most inclusive streaming subscription, with more than 120 million tracks from established and emerging artists, more than 30 million premium tracks, the ability to save tracks offline on mobile devices, no ads, and high-quality audio.

Recommended Videos

To qualify for the discount, you will need to be able to prove that you’re currently enrolled at a Title IV degree-granting college or university, in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Netherlands, Australia, or New Zealand. SoundCloud verifies your status through a third-party service called SheerID. Once verified, your student discount will remain valid for 12 months, after which you’ll need to go through the verification process again, or bump up to the full $10 per month price plan (or cancel outright). Unfortunately, SoundCloud doesn’t recognize the concept of lifelong learning: The discount is only available for four consecutive years.

Of course, that is assuming SoundCloud is still around in four years. The service has been a runaway hit with indy musicians looking for a platform they can use for greater exposure (anyone can upload their original music), but it’s had a much harder time convincing indy music fans to part with their money for continued access to this music. In 2017, the company received a much-needed infusion of cash from investors, but without the deep pockets backing competitors like Google, Amazon, and Apple, it’s unclear whether or not it will be able to stay afloat. Even the 800-pound gorilla of the streaming music world — Spotify — has struggled to make a profit.

Launching a student discount plan looks like a good way to bring new paying customers into the fold and the demographic is a perfect fit for SoundCloud’s artists. The question is, will these students stick with the platform once the discount ends?

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Get your hands on the Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth speaker while it’s only $30
A person holding the Anker Soundcore Boom 2.

The weather is getting warmer, which means we’re all going to be outdoors a lot more. And we can’t think of a better way to celebrate spring and summer than investing in an outdoor-friendly Bluetooth speaker! This week, the incredible Anker Soundcore 2 Bluetooth Speaker is on sale for $30, which is a $15 markdown from its usual $45 price. 

Why you should buy the Anker Soundcore 2 

Read more
YouTube starts using AI to make ads annoyingly difficult to avoid
YouTube app in iOS app gallery.

YouTube is relying on AI in its latest crusade against seekers of an ad-free video-watching experience. The company recently announced plans to use AI models to make ads more persuasive by strategically placing them within the video.

At its Brandcast 2025 event in New York, YouTube revealed it will deploy Google's Gemini AI to analyze videos to optimize placement of ads. The AI will be used to identify key moments or "Peak Points" in the video where viewers are most likely to be engaged and too invested to stop watching it in order to avoid the ad.

Read more
Qobuz Connect launches with Denon, Marantz, and more than 50 other hi-fi brands
Qobuz Connect.

Fans of Qobuz, the France-based subscription music service that specializes in lossless, hi-res audio, now have a new way of streaming their favorite tracks to their favorite devices. Qobuz Connect has been added to the company's iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps, letting them control compatible streaming speakers and components from a big list of hi-fi brands.

Most folks will recognize names like Denon and Marantz -- every device made by these brands that work with the HEOS streaming software are now Qobuz Connect compatible -- but the list also includes niche hi-fi players, such as Rotel, Nagra, HiFi Rose, Lindemann, Wiim, and Volumio. Here's the entire list.

Read more