Ask five musicians how they share music and you'll get five different answers. One emails a Google Drive folder. Another texts a Dropbox link. Someone else uploads to SoundCloud as a private track. A few use all three depending on who they're sharing with.
These tools weren't purpose-built for what musicians need when sharing music professionally: a way to share that looks polished, protects unreleased material, and tells you whether anyone actually listened. Here's how they all stack up.
The Quick Comparison
| Feature | Gatefolded | Google Drive | Dropbox | SoundCloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in music player | Yes | Basic preview | Basic preview | Yes |
| Album art & metadata | Yes | No | No | Cover art only |
| Password protection | Yes | No | Paid plans only | No |
| Email allowlists | Yes | No | No | No |
| Expiring links | Yes | No | Paid plans only | No |
| Download controls | Per track | View-only option | View-only option | On/off |
| Listening analytics | Yes (who, when, how long) | View count only | View count only | Play count only |
| Public music page | Yes | No | No | Yes (public profile) |
| Lyrics & credits | Yes | No | No | No |
| Email collection | Yes | No | No | No |
| Price | $49/year | Free (15 GB) | Free (2 GB) / $120+/year | Free / $96/year |
Google Drive
Google Drive is free, it's everywhere, and everyone has a Google account. That makes it the default for a lot of musicians. Need to send stems to your producer? Drive folder. Need to share a rough mix with your bandmates? Drive link.
For file transfer between collaborators, it works. But the moment you need to share music with someone you're trying to impress—a label, a playlist curator, a music blogger—Drive falls apart.
The recipient sees a file browser. Maybe a list of WAVs with names like "Track_03_Master_v2_FINAL.wav". There's no album art, no tracklist, no context. The audio preview is a small player in a cluttered interface designed for spreadsheets. You can set files to "view only," but you can't password-protect a link, set it to expire, or see whether someone actually hit play.
Best for: Sharing stems and project files with bandmates and producers who need to download everything anyway.
Not great for: Sharing demos with labels, pitching to curators, or anything where presentation matters.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a slight step up from Google Drive for music sharing, but not by much. It has a slightly better audio preview and on paid plans you can set passwords and expiration dates on shared links.
The problem is the same: it's a file storage service. When someone clicks your Dropbox link, they see a file list, not your music. No artwork, no proper player, no branded experience. And the useful sharing features—password protection and expiring links—are locked behind Dropbox Professional or Business plans that start at $200/year, far more than you'd pay for a tool actually built for music.
On the free plan, you get 2 GB of storage with no access controls beyond basic view/download permissions. Once you send that link, you have no way to revoke it without deleting the file, and no way to know if the link was forwarded to people you didn't intend.
Best for: Sending final masters to your distributor, backing up session files, internal band file sharing.
Not great for: Anything where you need to control who listens, track engagement, or make a good first impression.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is the only tool in this list that was actually designed for audio, and it shows. The player works, people know how to use it, and you can upload private tracks with shareable links.
But SoundCloud was built for public discovery, not private sharing. Private tracks are a side feature, and they come with real limitations. You can't password-protect a private link. You can't set it to expire. You can't restrict access to specific people by email. Anyone with the link can listen, and you can't revoke access without deleting the track entirely.
The analytics tell you play counts but not who listened, how long they stayed, or which tracks they played. On the free plan, you're limited to three hours of upload time. SoundCloud Next Pro removes the cap but costs $96/year and still doesn't solve the private sharing gaps.
There's also the branding issue. When you share a SoundCloud link, the recipient lands on SoundCloud—complete with platform ads, algorithmic recommendations, and a feed of other artists. You're competing for attention on the very page you sent them to.
Best for: Public releases, building a following on the platform, sharing music with people who already use SoundCloud.
Not great for: Sending unreleased demos securely, controlling who has access, or presenting music without platform distractions.
Gatefolded
Gatefolded was built specifically for independent musicians who need to share music—both privately and publicly—without stitching together three different services.
For private sharing, you get the access controls that Drive, Dropbox, and SoundCloud are all missing: password-protected links, email allowlists with one-time code verification, expiring links (by date or number of plays), per-track download controls, and real-time alerts when someone listens. You can see exactly who played what, when, and for how long.
For public sharing, you get something none of the others offer: a clean, artist-branded page where fans can stream your music, read lyrics and credits, find your streaming links and merch, and tip you directly. It replaces your link-in-bio with something that actually plays music instead of listing buttons.
The same link can transition from private to public. Share a demo privately while it's in progress, then flip it to public when it's released. No new URL, no rebuilding anything.
Best for: Sharing demos with labels and collaborators, public music pages, replacing your link-in-bio, anyone who wants private sharing and a fan-facing page in one tool.
Not great for: Sending raw stems or project files that collaborators need to import into a DAW (use Drive or Dropbox for that).
So Which One Should You Use?
It depends on what you're doing.
Sharing stems and project files with your band or producer? Google Drive or Dropbox. They're file storage tools, and for file storage, they work. No need to overthink it.
Posting finished tracks publicly for discovery? SoundCloud still has an audience for that, especially in hip-hop and electronic music. If you're building a following on the platform, it makes sense to keep uploading there.
Sharing demos with labels, pitching curators, sending advance copies to press, or replacing your link-in-bio? That's where Gatefolded fits. You get proper access controls, analytics that tell you if someone actually listened, and a professional presentation that doesn't look like you threw it together in 30 seconds.
Most artists end up using a combination. Drive for stems, maybe SoundCloud for public tracks, and a purpose-built tool for everything that needs to look and work professionally. The mistake is trying to use one generic tool for all of it.