Soda Music feels like scrolling songs, not listening

I spent two days testing Soda Music (Qishui Yinyue). The trigger was its monthly active users approaching NetEase Cloud Music, with analysts also flagging concerns for Tencent Music. MAU counts users who open the app at least once a month, which indicates retention better than download numbers. I originally just wanted to verify if it was a "Douyin hit songs external app." After two days, it indeed feels more like an information feed for your ears.

After installing and registering casually, the first screen didn't look like a traditional music app. The homepage opens directly to a vertical music video feed. Swipe left/right to switch tracks, just like scrolling short videos. Recommendations were more frequent than I expected. During a 30-minute commute, I barely searched for songs actively. It pushed plenty of rhythmic tracks similar to Douyin hits but outside the usual list, good for background noise when you don't know what to listen to. Problems appeared quickly too. When I tried listening to some old albums and niche Chinese singers, the library showed its weaknesses. Public data says Soda has about 50 million tracks, while top platforms like Tencent Music have over 260 million. That's a significant gap.

I compared it with NetEase Cloud and QQ Music. NetEase recently changed its homepage to recommendation mode—you can play immediately upon opening and swipe to switch tracks. QQ Music still uses more traditional search and menu entries. Soda's logic is more thorough. It keeps users in "continue listening to the next one," not requiring you to decide what to listen to first. The recommendation algorithm guesses the next track based on your clicks, skips, and favorites. The entry point changed. Users shifted from "what do I want to hear" to "what does the platform feed me." This is also one reason for its rapid growth. Public data shows a year-over-year increase of 90.7%, while NetEase only grew slightly by 1.5%—a stark contrast.

But it's not for everyone. It suits young, price-sensitive people who scroll Douyin often and use music as background for commuting or chores. Old song fans, those needing popular Chinese libraries, people who love album integrity and community discussions, and those wanting it as their main player aren't suitable. My tests suggest it's more of a discovery entry point; the collection/favorites feature is weak. You can find many "okay" songs, but you might not be able to retrieve that album you collected ten years ago.

As for next steps, I'll keep watching how Tencent Music (TME) and NetEase Cloud adjust their homepages. If they make recommendations smoother, pressure on Soda will increase. If they stick to search and libraries, Soda will continue capturing users too lazy to pick songs. This news is worth noting. But don't confuse scrolling through songs with actually listening to them.