Hypeddit and download gates explained
Updated 28 October 2026 · 4 minute read
You find a track titled "FREE DOWNLOAD", but there's no download option on SoundCloud. Instead there's a Free Download or Buy link that takes you to another site. That site is a download gate. Here's how they work and how to get through one quickly.
What is a download gate?
A download gate is a page where an artist hands out a free track in exchange for a small action: following them, reposting the track, leaving a comment, or giving an email address. Hypeddit is the best known; there are several similar services.
The track is still free. You pay with a follow instead of money. For the artist, that follow is worth a lot: it's how small producers grow an audience that sees their next release.
Why artists use gates instead of SoundCloud's own download
- Growth. SoundCloud's own Download button gives the file away with nothing in return. A gate turns every download into a new follower.
- Several platforms at once. A gate can ask for a SoundCloud follow, a Spotify save and an Instagram follow in one go.
- Email lists. Some artists collect emails so they can reach fans directly, without depending on an algorithm.
- Better files. Gates can hand out a WAV or a high-quality MP3 and include extras like stems.
How to get a track through a gate
- Click the track's Free Download link on SoundCloud. The gate page opens.
- Connect your SoundCloud account when asked. You usually do this once; after that, most gates remember you.
- Do the steps the artist asks for: typically follow, repost or like. Each one is a single click.
- The download unlocks. Save the file into your music library.
With your accounts connected, a gate takes about 20–30 seconds.
Is it safe?
The well-known gate sites are widely used by artists and labels. Still, read what a gate asks permission for before you connect an account, never type your SoundCloud password into a site that isn't soundcloud.com, and be wary of pages that make you install software to get a track.
Going through a whole playlist of gated tracks
Free-download playlists often mix both kinds: tracks with SoundCloud's own download, and tracks behind gates. Checking each one by hand is the slow part. Cratedigger checks the whole playlist for you. It saves the tracks SoundCloud offers directly, and for gated tracks it shows a Get free download button that opens the artist's gate in your own browser. Open all free-download pages opens every gate at once, so you can work through them in a row.
Cratedigger never goes through a gate for you and never downloads from gate sites. You do the follow or repost, so the artist gets what they asked for.
Find every free download in a playlist
Cratedigger is free for Mac and Windows. No account needed.
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