What a Spotify pre-save does
A pre-save is a listener’s way of saying “add this to my library when it comes out”. On release day, the release is saved to their Spotify library, and depending on how the pre-save was made they may also follow the artist. For you, a pre-save is a signal of intent from someone who has not heard the full release yet, and it means the release is already in their library on day one.
Spotify does not let anyone pre-save an unreleased track by simply opening it in the app. Pre-saves happen in one of two places: a Spotify Countdown Page inside Spotify, or a pre-save page outside Spotify that asks the listener to connect their Spotify account.
Spotify Countdown Pages
A Countdown Page is Spotify’s own page for an upcoming release. Fans can pre-save it inside the Spotify app, and Spotify surfaces it in several places — on your artist profile, in search and in Spotify’s upcoming releases area. On release day, Spotify notifies the people who pre-saved and adds the release to their library. You can add extras such as a countdown video, the tracklist and merch, and you see the number of pre-saves in Spotify for Artists.
Countdown Pages are not available for every release. According to Spotify’s own help pages at the time of writing:
- They are for new, original albums and EPs. Singles, reissues, deluxe editions and compilations do not qualify.
- The artist needs a minimum number of monthly active listeners, which Spotify sets and shows in Spotify for Artists.
- Your distributor or label must deliver the release to Spotify ahead of time; the option to create the page appears after delivery.
- For a release with several main artists, the first-named artist creates the page.
Spotify changes these rules from time to time, so check the current requirements in Spotify for Artists’ help before you plan around one.
Pre-save pages from distributors and link tools
For singles, or when a Countdown Page is not available, use the pre-save page your distributor offers. DistroKid’s HyperFollow is a common example, and other distributors and smart link services have their own. These pages ask the listener to log in with Spotify once, and the save happens on release day. They work for singles as well as albums, and they usually support other services too. See the HyperFollow guide for one example in detail.
Using either one with your own page
Whichever you use, your listeners are on many services, not only Spotify. A single release page lets each of them pick their own:
Check for a Countdown Page
In Spotify for Artists, look at your upcoming release once your distributor has delivered it. If your artist profile and the release qualify, you can create a Countdown Page there.
Otherwise, use your distributor’s pre-save
Most distributors offer a pre-save page for upcoming releases, such as DistroKid HyperFollow. Copy its address.
Paste it into your release page
In listenthru, paste the Countdown Page address (it starts with open.spotify.com/prerelease/) or the distributor’s link as the Spotify link, and set the release date.
Share your page, not five links
Share your listenthru link. Spotify listeners go to the Spotify pre-save; everyone else gets their own service, a pre-add or a reminder.
On release day, listenthru finds the release on Spotify and points the Spotify button at the release itself, so people who tap your link after release go straight to the music instead of a pre-save page that has done its job. Read how the release-day switch works.
A simple timeline
- When you upload: choose a release date several weeks away, so Spotify and the other services receive the release in good time.
- After delivery: check Spotify for Artists for the Countdown Page option, or copy your distributor’s pre-save link.
- The same day: make your release page and share it with your announcement.
- Until release day: keep pointing people to the same link, and tag each post so you see which ones work.
- On release day: pre-saves land in libraries, and your page’s Spotify button leads to the release itself.
Getting more pre-saves
- Give people a reason: a snippet, a behind-the-scenes clip, the artwork reveal.
- Ask more than once. A story on announcement day, one at the halfway mark and one the day before each reach different people.
- Offer a reminder for people who would rather not connect an account. A release-day email or a calendar entry still brings them back.
- Use one link everywhere and tag it per post, so you learn which posts lead people to the pre-save.
Questions
Can I get a Countdown Page for a single?
No. Spotify’s Countdown Pages are for new albums and EPs. For a single, use your distributor’s pre-save page.
Can listenthru do Spotify pre-saves itself?
No. Spotify pre-saves happen on a Countdown Page or on your distributor’s pre-save page; your listenthru page links to it and switches to the release on release day.
Where do I see how many Spotify pre-saves I have?
For a Countdown Page, in Spotify for Artists. For a distributor’s pre-save page, in that distributor’s dashboard. listenthru shows how many people clicked through to Spotify from your page.
Do pre-saves help on release day?
They put the release in listeners’ libraries on day one, and Spotify notifies people who pre-saved through a Countdown Page. How much any single signal affects editorial or algorithmic playlists is not something Spotify publishes.