SoundCloud is an amazing website for up-and-coming musicians and DJs and for their fans. If you’re into EDM or dance music, then you surely know this site and use it regularly. If not, then let us introduce you to this whole site full of new music that you probably won’t hear anywhere else: If you’re looking for a remix of a classic song or a DJ mix of one hour plus, then SoundCloud is the best website to visit. If you want to discover new musical talent and hear inventive mixes, then this is the resource your need.
Kodi users already know that the Kodi media centre software can be used for streaming music and video as well as organising your collection on your hard drive and network. But you can also configure Kodi by installing add-ons which give you new functionality, and there is an add-on which allows you to browse and stream music directly from SoundCloud on your Kodi machine.
Today we’re going to introduce you to the Kodi SoundCloud add-on and show you how to install and use it.
You Should Have a VPN When Using Kodi
Before we get to installing and using the SoundCloud add-on, we should cover a key issue of privacy and security. The Kodi software itself is free, open source, and legal to use. And the officially supported Kodi add-ons, like SoundCloud, are legal too. However, sometimes people illegally upload copyrighted content to SoundCloud, and you should be carefully when accessing this. Additionally, if you use other third-party add-ons for Kodi, then you definitely need to be careful. Some unofficial add-ons allow you to stream or download content illegally, and even if you don’t know that you’re breaking the law, you could still be liable for prosecution or a fine if you’re caught using these add-ons.
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How to Install the SoundCloud Add-on for Kodi
A good thing about the SoundCloud add-on is that is comes officially from Kodi, so you know that it is supported and it’s very easy to install. In fact, you can install it directly from the official Kodi repo.
Here’s how you can install the SoundCloud add-on to your Kodi installation:
- Start on your Kodi home screen
- Click on Add-ons
- Click on the icon that looks like an open box
- Click on Install from repository
- Go to Kodi Add-on repository
- Go to Music add-ons
- Scroll down to SoundCloud
- Click on it and a box describing the add-on appears. Click install on the bottom menu
- Wait a minute and you’ll see a notification once the add-on in installed
- That’s it!
How to Use the SoundCloud Add-on for Kodi
Once you’ve installed the SoundCloud add-on, here are step-by-step instructions on how to use it:
- Start on your Kodi home screen
- Go to Add-ons
- Go to Music add-ons
- Click on SoundCloud
- You’ll see a setup wizard. Click yes to begin the setup process
- Here you can choose to enter a login. If you have a SoundCloud username and password, enter it here. You can use the add-on without a login but it’s better to have one, as you can save favourite tracks and artists for later
- Enter your username and password and click ok
- Wait a minute and it will log you in
- If you miss this the first time, you can go back and add your log in information later. To do this, go to your Music add-ons section and right click on the SoundCloud icon and select Settings. Now you can enter your username and password here
- When you open the add-on, you’ll see options for Search or Explore
- If you open Explore, you can see options for Trending Music, Trending Audio, Music Genres, or Audio Genres
- Music refers to (obviously) music, while audio refers to other audio content such as audiobooks
- The Trending sections will take you to a playlist of the hottest tunes on the site. This is useful if you want to throw on a quick playlist of new music
- The Music Genres section is probably the most useful part of this add-on. You’ll see specific genres like Dubstep, Drum & Bass, Dance & EDM, and many others. When you click on a genre you’ll be taken to a list of songs in that genre
- One issue with the SoundCloud add-on is that tracks can sometimes be unclearly labelled. It’s not always obvious what is the artist name and what is the track name. However, you can hear a great selection by just choosing a random track and letting it play similar tracks in that genre
- When you select a song, it will start playing straight away. You’ll see the cover art and the genre in a box on the left
- If you want to skip forward or back, click the options icon in the bottom left and a control panel will slide out. This panel can be pulled out whenever you are listening to a song and used to see details of the current track as well as to flick between tracks
Conclusion
The SoundCloud add-on is a great way to discover new artists, DJs, and mixes. Fans of EDM and dance will absolutely want this add-on in their Kodi build! Coming from the official Kodi repository, this one is easy to install, but if you do run into any problems with installing then let us know in the comments below and we’ll do our best to help.