Soundcloud: Vinyl Studio | ReggieSpace Projects

Project Overview

Vinyl Studio is a strategic initiative by SoundCloud’s Distribution team, designed to empower PRO artists to turn their digital releases into physical vinyl records. By removing upfront manufacturing costs, the platform lowers the barrier to entry for independent artists to monetize their work through physical media.

My Role & Impact

I joined as the first Senior Software Engineer from REDspace to kickstart the frontend development. As the project scope expanded, I transitioned into a leadership role, mentoring new team members and overseeing the delivery of critical moderation infrastructure.

From Zero to Production

I architected and built the Sonar Release Review tool from the ground up. This internal system enables moderators to manage the entire lifecycle of a vinyl release — from initial submission and granular, field-level reviews to final approval or rejection with actionable feedback.

Eliminating Bottlenecks

Recognizing that backend dependencies were slowing frontend progress, I stepped into the Go (Golang) codebase to implement required features directly. This cross-functional approach significantly accelerated the delivery timeline and reduced inter-team wait times.

Workflow Automation

I integrated the platform with ElasticStage, ensuring that once a release passed moderation, the data was seamlessly transmitted for on-demand vinyl printing and fulfillment.

Technical Architecture

The project required handling complex data flows across multiple environments and communication protocols:

Frontend Excellence

Built with React (Next.js) and Material UI
Focused on a highly interactive and intuitive user experience for both artists and moderators

Hybrid Communication

Leveraged GraphQL for the main Vinyl Studio application, enabling flexible and efficient data fetching
Utilized Protobuf for the Sonar Moderation tool to ensure high-performance, type-safe communication with backend services

Technical Stack

Languages

TypeScript
Go (Golang)

Frameworks & Libraries

React
Next.js
Material UI

Communication

GraphQL
Protobuf
gRPC

Integrations

ElasticStage API