Plays via API not reflecting on artist profiles

[jasongrishkoff]

Hi there, it looks like play counts via the API are not properly registering. I can see this on both of my applications (SubmitHub and Indie Shuffle).

The way I get the streaming endpoint is as follows:

• Fetch the track_id/streams endpoint using OAuth (eg https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230805499/streams)
• Return http_mp3_128_url and play that

For example, this song published on Indie Shuffle has had 750+ plays:
https://www.indieshuffle.com/flamingo-zamperoni-calm-waters/

But on SoundCloud it's only showing 5 plays: https://soundcloud.com/bensnburner/starry/s-9gBTqOLrNxl

[rahul-sc]

Hey @jasongrishkoff there are many layers of checks for plays captured from API integrations (ex: security, abuse, verified identity etc) and it's hard to pin-point a reason from a high level diagnosis. Just double checking here - is this still the case?

[jasongrishkoff]

Yes, this is definitely still the case. On both SubmitHub and Indie Shuffle plays aren't counting when using the http_mp3_128_url field returned from a URL like this: https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230805499/streams.

The streams endpoint is fetched using the proper Auth headers. Requests to the corresponding http_mp3_128_url are not using auth headers, as that's not possible using HTTP5 Audio (as referenced in #152).

[rahul-sc]

We might need help in narrowing this down. Is this happening for http_mp3_128_url only? or via HLS urls too? Have you tried?

[jasongrishkoff]

I've only been using http_mp3_128_url. I tried a few plays from the hls_mp3_128_url endpoint but after 5 minutes they hadn't reflected on the main SoundCloud website. Not sure if I should wait longer.

[jasongrishkoff]

Anything else I can do to help here? I keep getting complaints from artists we feature on Indie Shuffle as well as artists using SubmitHub.

[egm0121]

Same issue here, also using http_mp3_128_url to stream the tracks

[rahul-sc]

Heya. We're looking into this.

[jasongrishkoff]

Hi @rahul-sc, has your team managed to make any progress here?

[rahul-sc]

Hello, this is not an immediate fix, unfortunately. As an interim workaround, you can use the /tracks/:id/stream endpoint. Please note, that this is undocumented & experimental.

[jasongrishkoff]

Hi @rahul-sc - that endpoint returns an MP3 rather than an actual streaming endpoint. HTML Audio can't pass headers client-side, so I need to first do a server-side request for the signed endpoint, thus using the http_mp3_128_url from the /tracks/:id:/streams endpoint.

[mgoodfellow]

@jasongrishkoff - no, that endpoint returns a redirect response. Don't follow the redirect on your server, and instead return the value in the Location header to your client.

[jasongrishkoff]

Okay, I'll go ahead and do that and see if it starts tracking plays. Thanks.

[jasongrishkoff]

Update: so far, no plays are being counted by following the 301 redirect of the /tracks/:id:/stream endpoint using the Location header. As an example, this song has 300+ plays on Indie Shuffle, but only 174 on SoundCloud (and it's been online for 2 months, so those likely weren't via our API): https://soundcloud.com/gglum/navy-1

Anyone else able to confirm that plays are being counted with this approach?

[jasongrishkoff]

I wonder if maybe there's a delay in how long it takes to reflect the plays? I am getting reports from users that the plays are starting to reflect on their SoundCloud pages. And I saw the above-linked track jump by ~300 plays, which is likely from Indie Shuffle (still a far cry from what we've seen on our website).

Can someone from SoundCloud confirm how long it typically takes for plays via the API to reflect on SoundCloud's website?