In the past year, the music streaming service known as SoundCloud has become one of the most popular music streaming websites worldwide, with 175 million listeners using SoundCloud monthly as of August 2017. With such a large user base, it is no surprise that several students use the app regularly.

SoundCloud is an online music streaming service that allows its users to upload their own music, as well as listen to the estimated 125 million tracks available free of charge. Although streaming music is what contributed to SoundCloud’s popularity, the addition of podcasts in 2015 has attracted an even larger audience.

According to SimilarWeb.com, SoundCloud is ranked the second most popular website in the world for entertainment and music, beating out both Spotify and Pandora. Roughly 47 percent of SoundCloud’s traffic comes from Facebook.

One of the appealing aspects of the app that draws interest from students is that it is free, but some students are skeptical that they will soon need to start paying.

“I went to the app originally because it was free,” junior Moises Lairos said. “I’m happy with it for now; they just added SoundCloud Go, which you have to pay for, and they are starting to use ads now, which they did not before.”

Others prefer to use SoundCloud over other services because of how easy it is to find music from local artists.

“I use SoundCloud only to listen and support local DMV rappers,” junior Azalea Lazo said.

With such a large and diverse platform, those creating original music find SoundCloud to be the best place to share their projects. Junior Franco Ferruzo has already released some music on SoundCloud, and said he is looking to release more in the future.

“For now, I am uploading beats for me and my homies,” Ferruzo said. ” I am looking to put out more guitar-based music in the future, but for now it is for recreational purposes.”

Although the website has amassed a lot of popularity, it has recently gone through some serious financial hardships. These hardships almost caused the downfall of the website, which would have taken all the music with it.

Earlier in 2017, SoundCloud laid off 40 percent of their staff, adding up to be around 173 employees, and eventually filed for bankruptcy. However, the website was saved by a $169.5 million investment.

That agreement made by SoundCloud with Singapore based investment company Temasek and global merchant bank The Raine Group, allows users to continue listening to over 125 million songs for free while the company continues to adapt to the fast-changing landscape of online music.

Whether you use SoundCloud to listen to your favorite artists or to publish your own music, both of those things can be done on the free, easily accessible app. It is one of the best options for people who want to listen to their music while on a budget, and the wide selection of tracks is sure to keep the listener engaged.