Pre-saves tell Spotify your release matters before it drops. Most artists set up the link and forget it. The ones who get traction run it as a campaign.
You finished the track. You uploaded it to your distributor. You got the pre-save link. Now what?
Most indie artists paste the link in their Instagram bio, drop it in one YouTube description, and wait. Release day comes. A handful of pre-saves trickle in. The track lands with a quiet thud instead of a bang.
Pre-saves aren't magic. But used right, they're one of the few things an independent artist can control that directly affects how Spotify treats a new release.
When someone pre-saves your track, they give Spotify permission to automatically add it to their library on release day. They don't have to remember to look for it. They don't have to search. It just appears.
This matters because Spotify's algorithm watches what happens in the first 24-48 hours after a release. Saves, full listens, repeat plays, and playlist adds during that window signal to Spotify that the track has momentum. Pre-saves turn into instant day-one saves, which feed directly into those early signals. (Audiartist, 2026)
If your pre-save count is strong enough, your track shows up in Release Radar for people who follow you, and potentially in Discover Weekly for listeners with similar taste. That's free, algorithm-driven reach you can't buy.
Not every distributor handles pre-saves the same way. Some include pre-save links as part of their standard offering. Others make you figure it out yourself or charge extra.
DistroKid ($24.99/year, unlimited releases) includes a feature called HyperFollow that generates a pre-save landing page. It's basic but functional. You get a link that lets fans pre-save on Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms.
Ditto Music ($19/year for one artist, unlimited releases) includes pre-save links at no extra cost. They explicitly list it as a standard feature, which not all distributors do.
TuneCore ($22.99/year, unlimited releases) does not include pre-save links as a standard feature. You'll need a separate tool.
CD Baby (one-time fee per release) doesn't include pre-save functionality either. Again, you'll need an external tool.
If your distributor doesn't offer pre-saves, or if you want more control over the landing page, smart link tools fill the gap.
A smart link detects which streaming platform a fan uses and sends them to the right place. Instead of posting separate links for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Deezer, you share one URL.
Linkfire ($10-100/month) is the industry standard for labels. Deep analytics, streaming attribution data, and integrations with most platforms. Overkill for many indie artists, but the data is real. (Linkfire)
Feature.fm (free tier available, paid from ~$5/month) is popular with independent artists. Free plan gets you smart links with 7 days of analytics. Paid plans add retargeting pixels, fan data collection, and longer analytics windows.
Hypeddit (free tier available) is the budget option. The free plan works for basic pre-save campaigns but comes with Hypeddit branding on landing pages.
For most indie artists releasing music independently, Feature.fm's free tier or DistroKid's HyperFollow covers the basics. If you're running ads to the pre-save page or need detailed conversion data, Linkfire is worth the spend.
A pre-save link is useless if nobody sees it. Treat the pre-save window as a mini marketing campaign with a beginning and an end.
3-4 weeks before release: Submit the track to your distributor and get the pre-save link. Start sharing it. This is your window. Every pre-save collected before release day counts toward those critical first-hour numbers.
Release morning: Switch the pre-save link to the direct streaming link across all your channels. The pre-save page is now dead weight. Anyone clicking it after release should land on the actual track, not a "coming soon" page that no longer works.
First week after release: Keep the streaming link front and center. This is still the momentum window. Spotify's algorithm is still watching engagement.
After week one: Decide your next priority. Keep the streaming link if the track is still your focus, or swap it for whatever comes next (next single, merch, tour dates).
If you release music on YouTube (music videos, lyric videos, behind-the-scenes content, shorts), your video descriptions are free real estate for pre-save links. But YouTube collapses descriptions after the first 100-150 characters. If the pre-save link is buried under social links and credits, your viewers won't see it.
Put the pre-save in the very first line of your description during the campaign window:
Pre-save the new single so it's in your library on drop day: [link]
One line. One link. No competing calls to action above it. Move everything else below the fold.
On release day, swap that line for the streaming link:
Stream the new single now: [link]
If you have a back catalog of music videos and related content, applying this change across all of them (not just the latest upload) multiplies your exposure. A viewer discovering your channel through an old video should still see your current release.
Updating dozens of descriptions manually is tedious. Sendari can push the pre-save link across your entire YouTube catalog, then swap it to the streaming link on release day, so every video stays current without editing them one by one.
Spotify is the biggest streaming platform, but it's not the only one your fans use. Apple Music has a strong share in the US and UK. Deezer is popular in France and parts of Western Europe. YouTube Music is growing fast everywhere. Tidal and Amazon Music have their own audiences too.
If you only share a Spotify link and 30% of your listeners use Apple Music or Deezer, you're leaving those fans with an extra step that many won't take. Smart links solve this. A single URL detects the listener's preferred platform and sends them to the right store automatically.
Check your YouTube analytics to see where your viewers are located. That tells you which platforms matter for your audience.
A working pre-save campaign for an indie release looks like this:
No step here requires a label, a manager, or a budget. It requires planning and follow-through. The artists who treat releases like campaigns instead of calendar dates are the ones who build momentum over time.
