How to download SoundCloud songs from the website onto your computer, or from the mobile app with SoundCloud Go

• You can download a SoundCloud song to your computer from the SoundCloud website, or from the app using SoundCloud Go.
• If you’re using the SoundCloud app, you can’t save an audio file onto your phone, but you can download the song for offline listening.
• Not every song on SoundCloud is available for download — the user who uploads the track needs to enable it.
• Visit Business Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.

You may have heard the term “SoundCloud rap” to describe a kind of laid-back, lo-fi hip-hop.

But the site is more than a springboard for new genres. SoundCloud is a cross between a free-to-use music sharing platform and a social media site, used by both established and aspiring artists.

Certain music from the site- typically from smaller, independent artists- is free to download to your desktop computer. If you only use the SoundCloud mobile app, you can also use a SoundCloud Go subscription to save songs for offline listening.

Here’s how to do both.

How to download SoundCloud songs from your desktop

Not every song on SoundCloud is available for download – that’s up to each artist to decide when they upload.

Underneath every track uploaded to SoundCloud, you'll see a few options: "Like," "Repost," "Share," "Add to Next Up" and "More." If the song is available for download, you'll see the option under "More."

1. Sign in to your SoundCloud account.

2. Find a song you'd like to download.

3. Click "More."

4. If the artist has made the song available for download, you'll see "Download file" in the dropdown menu.

5. Click "Download file."

6. The song will begin downloading and you should be able to play it from your desktop using a program like Music.

How to download SoundCloud songs in the mobile app

Users with a paid SoundCloud Go subscription can download songs for offline listening. However, unlike on the desktop app, you're not downloading a file you can do anything with - you can't share this file, for instance, or edit it. You can only listen to it in the app.

A SoundCloud Go subscription is $4.99 a month, and a SoundCloud Go Plus subscription - which gives you more songs at a higher quality - is $9.99 a month. Before you start paying, you can do a 30-day free trial.

To download songs from the SoundCloud mobile app, you'll have to add them to a playlist first. You can also download your Liked songs.

1. Open the app and sign into your SoundCloud Go account, or click here to start a free trial.

2. Find a song you'd like to save for offline listening.

3. Tap the "More" button, which looks like three horizontal dots, and tap "Add to playlist." Create a playlist or add it to an existing one.

4. To find the playlist, go to the "Your Library" tab by tapping the vertical lines icon in the bottom-right corner of the app.

5. Tap "Playlists and albums." You can also tap "Liked tracks" if you'd like to download all your Liked tracks instead.

6. Tap the playlist you'd like to download. You can only download an entire playlist or all liked tracks at once - you can't download songs individually.

7. Tap the icon with the downward-facing arrow.

Your playlist will download. Once it does, you'll be able to listen to these songs without an internet connection.

If you later want to delete the songs, tap that same downward-facing arrow to erase the downloaded data.

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

• How to change your SoundCloud profile picture on an iPhone
  

• How to upload audio content to SoundCloud directly from your iPhone

• How to make a playlist on SoundCloud to organize all your favorite music and podcasts

• How to download music from Spotify and listen to your favorite songs without an internet connection

• What to do if your music won't download in Apple Music on an iPhone or iPad