5 Key Takeaways from Charlie Ogbechie on Authenticity and Innovation on SoundCloud

In the latest Musiio by SoundCloud podcast episode, host Hazel Savage sits down with Charlie Ogbechie, SoundCloud’s Artist Development & Relations Lead for Europe. 

Charlie shares his expertise in artist relations, drawing from over a decade of experience working with EMI, Warner, and now SoundCloud. His talent for bringing people and music together has been paramount to his career, having worked with artists like Migos, Anderson Paak, and more. 

Here are five key takeaways from the episode.

1. How to optimise your SoundCloud profile

How do you get noticed by the artist relations lead for SoundCloud? “First and foremost is having an optimised profile” says Charlie.

This means having an up to date profile picture and banner, a biography, social links, but most importantly a Next Pro account. Next Pro allows you to dig into your insights, explains Charlie, “We don’t gatekeep that data. You can see top listeners by track, then you can DM them, and you can actually build a one on one relationship with them.” Hear more about it at 42:46. 

Replying to comments is equally important. “There’s a 40% uptake in listens and engagement from fans when you reply to comments,” says Charlie.

2. The importance of community and creating opportunities for yourself

Getting a start in music is all about creating opportunities for yourself and building a network. 

Tapping into the music community at university allowed Charlie to organise artist showcases. He says, “The parties were fun, but it was more than just platforming DJs. I was really interested in the music and the artists. And that made me think that there’s a career here.”

He was booking huge acts like Giggs, Krept & Konan, and Stylo G, thanks to his connections. Then he was putting them in front of crowds of over 4,000 students from all over the country. This is where he found his interest in artist relations. 

“Doing these parties set me up for the entrepreneurial spirit and understanding parts of the industry. I would volunteer wherever I could, and I ended up getting my first industry job at EMI,” says Charlie. Hear more about how he started out at 2:51.

3. Be authentic and make music you love

In the full podcast episode, Charlie speaks about the need for authenticity in artist marketing. “Artists should be doing things that feel organic and true to themselves,” instead of going down the route of always following what labels tell them to do. 

If you love the music you make, it shows. He says: “we might not be native to the genre, but passion always shines through. It’s about finding out about the artist’s influences and how they came to create the music.” 

4. The DIY scene is leading the way

“We have a lot of emerging scenes that develop on SoundCloud, like plugg and dark trap which are made by younger creators who are super DIY. There are clusters of communities interacting with each other to create these songs.”

As unsigned artists on the platform begin to define their own sound, they are getting picked up by major labels who are engaging with the platform. And this is creating a buzz.

“DIY artists have helped build the excitement surrounding SoundCloud. Bigger artists are now leaning into the platform more,” says Charlie.

5. Innovation on SoundCloud 

Artists are finding new ways to use the platform to build community. Charlie’s role is to “help them find their voice on our platform. It’s finding cool ways to use us as a vehicle to connect with their fans. We work with them to cut through the noise.” 

At 20:03, Charlie discusses the different ways that artists like Little Simz, AJ Tracey, and Tendai have been using the platform to provide unique listening experiences for fans. 

“SoundCloud is allowing artists to have fun. They have their official releases, their campaigns, but artists are creating music all the time. They want to have fun, not think too deeply about some stuff and just bring back the fun in why they do it.”

Catch the full episode to learn more about what it takes to work in artist relations and how artists are transforming listening experiences on SoundCloud.

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Check out all the Musiio by SoundCloud podcast episodes here.