Those days of simply sharing a Spotify link with your audience are long gone. To succeed as a musician in today’s fast-paced world, it is crucial to have a global perspective on communication. First impressions are now very important when marketing your music. Artists need to be cautious about how and where they present their links in addition to branding and a consistent online presence.
There is no need to worry, though. You can quickly share your songs, albums, or playlists from various streaming services in a single link by using smart links. This not only makes it easy for your fans to listen to your music, but it also gives you the chance to learn important information about your audience.
You can find out more about your fans, their locations, and musical preferences with the aid of smart link analytics. As an artist, you can use this knowledge to your advantage as you develop and advance. In order to connect with your worldwide fan base, don’t be afraid to leverage technology. Use tools like smart links.
If you want to know which smart link services are the best and what questions people frequently ask me about this useful tool, keep reading!
What Is a Smart Music Link?
Smart music links are online tools that allow musicians and record labels to create a single link that directs listeners to their music on multiple streaming platforms and stores. You can now listen to your songs on a variety of streaming platforms, including Deezer, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. These links are also known as “smart links” or “landing pages” because they automatically redirect the listener to the appropriate platform based on their location and device. As a musician, it serves as a kind of “business card” and is crucial when you are promoting yourself.
Smart music links can be created using a variety of online services, such as Linkfire, Linktree, ToneDen, Hypeddit, Soundplate, Feature.fm, Songwhip, and many more. Users can use these services to create custom landing pages for their music, where they can choose which platforms to include and customize the page’s look and user experience. Some services also include extra features, such as analytics and marketing tools, to assist artists and labels in promoting their music and reaching a larger audience.
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto.
How Do I Create a Smart Music Link?
To create a smart music link, you will need to sign up for an account with a service that offers this feature. Some popular options include Linkfire, Linktree, ToneDen, Hypeddit, Soundplate, Feature.fm, Songwhip. Here’s a general overview of the process for creating a smart music link using one of these services:
- The majority of services will ask you for some basic information, such as your name and email address, when you create an account.
- Follow the instructions provided by the service to create a new smart link. This could entail uploading your music, choosing the platforms you want to link to, and adjusting the landing page’s design.
- After you’ve created your smart link, you can share it with your fans and followers on social media, your website, and other online channels.
It’s important to remember that each service may have its own unique set of guidelines for creating smart music links, so it’s a good idea to consult the service’s guidelines or customer support for more specific instructions.
What Are the Benefits of Using a Smart Music Link?
Using smart music links to promote and distribute your music online has many advantages. The following are some of the main benefits:
- Convenience: Instead of having to send listeners to each platform separately, smart music links let you reroute them to your music on multiple platforms using a single link.
- Time saver: Smart links can save you and your fans a lot of time. There is no need to share the music from Spotify, Deezer, or Apple separately. The smart link gives your listeners the option to quickly select the platform on which they want to download and/or stream your music, as well as the ability to make purchases in the appropriate language and currency for their location.
- Consistency: You can make sure that your listeners always have access to your music with a smart music link, regardless of where they are or what device they are using. This keeps the experience for your followers consistent.
- Analytics: A lot of smart music link services provide analytical tools that let you keep tabs on the number of people who click on your link and the platforms they use to listen to your music. By doing so, you’ll be able to understand your target market better and plan your music promotion strategy.
- Marketing tools: Some smart music link services also provide marketing tools that can expand your audience and improve the promotion of your music, such as email campaigns and social media integration.
- Customization: Many smart music link services allow you to customize the look of your landing page, which can assist you in creating a more professional and cohesive brand image for your music.
Overall, if you’re an independent artist or record label looking for new ways to connect with your audience, smart music links can be a useful tool for promoting and distributing your music online.
How Do I Share a Smart Music Link?
Once you have created a smart music link using a service like Feature.fm, Soundplate, Linkfire, smartURL, Snipfeed, or urlbio, you can share it with your fans and followers in a variety of ways. Some options include:
- Social media: You can share your smart music link on your social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. This is a quick and easy way to reach a large audience and get more people listening to your music.
- Email campaigns: If you have an email list of fans and followers, you can send them a message with your smart music link included. This can be a more personal way to share your music and encourage your fans to check it out.
- Your website: If you have a website for your music, you can add your smart music link to the homepage or other prominent location. This will make it easy for visitors to your site to find and listen to your music.
- Streaming platforms: Many streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music, allow you to include a link to your music in your profile or on your artist page. You can use your smart music link to direct listeners to your music on these platforms.
- Promotional materials: You can also include your smart music link in any promotional materials you create, such as flyers, posters, or business cards. This will make it easy for people to find and listen to your music when they learn about you in person.
Overall, the key to effectively sharing your smart music link is to be creative and use a variety of channels to reach your audience. By sharing your link on social media, email, your website, and other platforms, you can maximize the number of people who discover and listen to your music.
Photo by Christina Morillo.
What Happens When I Click on a Smart Music Link?
When you click on a smart music link, you’ll be taken to a landing page with a list of music platforms and stores where the artist’s music is available. Usually created by the artist or record label, the landing page may contain artwork, biographies, tour dates, and other details about the artist.
Depending on the artist and the service they are using, different platforms may be included in the smart music link. More options are available through some services than through others, and some may even let the artist pick which platforms to include in their smart music link.
You can listen to the artist’s music or buy it if it’s for sale after being forwarded to the appropriate platform. To access the music on some platforms, you might need to create an account or sign up for a streaming service.
How Do I Know if a Smart Music Link is Working?
A smart music link can be tested in a number of ways to see if it is functioning properly:
- Check the landing page: When you click on the smart music link, you should be redirected to a landing page that displays a list of the platforms where the artist’s music is available. There might be a problem with the smart music link if the landing page won’t load or seems broken.
- Test the redirects: On the landing page, click on each of the listed platforms to test the redirects. There might be an issue with the smart music link if you are not directed to the artist’s music on the appropriate platform.
- Look through the artist’s profiles on each platform: If an artist’s music is unavailable on a certain platform, you can try directly visiting the artist’s profile on that platform to see if the music is there. This can assist you in figuring out whether the issue is with the platform itself or the smart music link.
- Contact the service provider: If you are unable to determine the cause of the problem, you can try contacting the service provider for the smart music link. They may be able to provide additional information or assistance to help you resolve the issue.
In general, there may be an issue with the link or the platforms it directs to if you are having trouble listening to an artist’s music via a smart music link. These steps should enable you to pinpoint the problem’s root cause and take the necessary action to fix it.
Can I Customize a Smart Music Link?
Yes, a lot of smart music link services let you change the way your landing page looks and the platforms that are integrated with your smart music link. This can be a practical strategy for developing a more polished and unified brand image for your music.
You must register for an account with a service that offers this feature in order to customize your smart music link. Once you have an account, you can follow the service’s instructions to create a new smart music link and customize it to your liking.
Customization options may include the ability to add your own artwork, bios, and other information to the landing page, as well as choose which platforms to include in the link. Some services may also allow you to choose the layout and design of the landing page, such as the font, colors, and background image.
By customizing your smart music link, you can create a more personalized and professional experience for your listeners and help establish your brand identity as an artist or record label.
How Do I Delete a Smart Music Link?
You must sign in to your account with the service you used to create the smart music link in order to delete it. A list of your current smart music links should be available once you log in. The link that needs to be deleted should then be easy to find and delete from there.
Depending on the service you’re using, there may be different steps to follow in order to delete a smart music link. Some services might have a “delete” or “remove” button you can click to remove the link, whereas other services might have a different process you need to follow.
You might need to ask the service provider for help if you can’t find the link you want to delete or if you’re having trouble doing so. They ought to be able to give you the information or help you need to remove the link.
Remember that deleting a smart music link will prevent listeners from accessing it in the future because the link will be permanently deleted from the service’s database. You’ll need to make a new smart music link or find another strategy if you want to keep promoting your music online.
Photo by Christina Morillo.
Top 7 Best Music Smart Links
You can build smart links using a wide range of services. In the world of music marketing, these are the most widely used options:
I have written a brief review of each of the services above so that you can learn more. You can evaluate your options and choose the best one for you.
Linkfire
Linkfire is a leading provider of smart links in the music industry. Since its inception in 2014, it has gained a reputation as a go-to choice for many music labels, artists, and marketing agencies. Over 50,000 artists use the platform worldwide, many of whom rank in the top 100 Billboard artists.
One of the key features that sets Linkfire apart from other smart link providers is its focus on scalability and in-depth analytics. As your music career grows, so does the platform, providing high uptime, the ability to handle high traffic and a seamless user experience. The platform also allows for multiple team members to collaborate and access advanced features and integrations.
Additionally, Linkfire offers an exclusive streaming data partnership, which provides an unprecedented level of insight into the actions of listeners after clicking on your link. This level of data can assist in accurately measuring the success of your campaigns and making more informed decisions about your marketing budget.
Linkfire offers different pricing options, all starting at $10/month and also offers a free trial for any plan before committing.
Linktree
Linktree is a unique platform that caters to the needs of creative individuals such as music artists, composers, and singers. It offers a one-stop-shop solution for creating a bio link that encompasses all aspects of your creative work, including content, merchandise, and profiles.
One of the major benefits of Linktree is that it generates a single bio link that you can place on social media pages, email signatures, and websites, making it easy for your audience to access your content, event tickets, contests, and more.
If you’re looking for a way to promote your content offline, Linktree allows you to create printable QR codes for your bio link, which you can place on brochures and other materials. When scanned with a smartphone, these QR codes will take users to your Linktree profile.
Additionally, Linktree offers a way for you to make money off of your creativity through the sale of goods or services. You can do this by earning money from affiliate marketing links, merchandise sales, tips, and creative services.
Compared to other smart link providers, Linktree is not music-focused, and the templates available are limited. It doesn’t offer any streaming insights, and has limited integrations. The pricing plans range from free to $27/month, with the option to save by paying annually.
ToneDen
ToneDen is a social marketing tool that has become popular among event marketers, particularly in the music industry, since its acquisition by Eventbrite in 2020. The platform is particularly useful for musicians who rely on touring as a key component of their marketing strategy.
While the platform offers a free plan, it comes with limited features. The full suite of tools and features that make ToneDen worthwhile are only available with paid plans. Unfortunately, the pricing for these plans can be quite steep, starting at $50/month and going up to $1,300/month, which may not be within the budget for most independent artists. However, if you do have the budget and are looking to grow your brand, ToneDen offers an automated Facebook and Instagram ads platform, along with other powerful marketing tools.
You can automate social media marketing tasks with ToneDen so you can concentrate on producing interesting content for your audience. The platform offers various campaigns, suites, and tools for generating awareness and promoting your brand on social media. Additionally, it comes with an automatic smart link creation tool, which can save you the time and expense of hiring a social media campaign manager.
The smart link tool allows you to create marketing links for various types of content, such as live streams, podcasts, music, tours, events, and fundraisers.
Hypeddit
Hypeddit is a smart link platform that offers a range of features at an affordable price. The platform offers a free plan that allows you to create unlimited smart links and download gates, which can be used to incentivize certain actions. The pro-level plan, which costs $9, offers additional features such as email collection, custom domain setup, and the opportunity to have your song featured in the “New Releases” section.
One of the key benefits of Hypeddit is its focus on ad conversion tracking. The platform was designed by John Gold, the founder of Spotify Growth Engine and a pioneer in the use of Facebook (now Meta) conversion campaigns for promoting music on Spotify. This background makes Hypeddit a great choice for running conversion ads.
In addition to its ad conversion tracking capabilities, Hypeddit also offers a number of other useful features, such as tracking pixels for a variety of platforms, as well as backend metrics like clicks and conversion rates. While the platform may not be as customizable as some of the more expensive options, it is still a solid choice for musicians looking for an affordable smart link solution.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio.
Soundplate Click
Soundplate is a platform that offers a variety of tools and resources to help record labels and independent artists promote their music. One of the key features of Soundplate is the Soundplate Click, which allows you to create smart links and artist pages, where you can display all your music, tour dates, and more in a webpage format.
Soundplate’s smart link generator is a useful tool for adding pre-save campaigns with calendar reminders and a preview of your song so that your fans can listen to it in advance. Additionally, you can also display your social media platforms and sharing options on each link, making it easy for fans to stay connected with you.
Another great feature of Soundplate is its ability to collect email addresses directly from the landing page, which can be a useful tool for building your mailing list and avoiding redirecting fans to another webpage.
Additionally, Soundplate also provides the ability to generate QR codes that you can print on posters, stickers, packages, or business cards, to help you take your marketing campaigns offline. Users can simply scan the code with their cellphones to get to the landing page with all the links.
Soundplate offers three plans: a limited free plan that includes up to two smart links or pre-save campaigns and basic statistics; the Pro unlimited plan for $20 monthly that includes all features unlocked; and the enterprise plan, which includes everything from the lower tier and resources for managing multiple artists.
Overall, Soundplate is a good choice for those looking for an affordable and user-friendly platform to promote their music. The smart link generator and artist page creation tools make it easy to create an online presence and promote your music, while the ability to generate QR codes and collect email addresses directly from the landing page provides a unique way to take your marketing offline and build your fan base. While the free plan may be limited in terms of the number of smart links or pre-save campaigns, the affordable Pro and enterprise plans offer more features and flexibility for those looking to grow their music career.
Feature.fm
If you’re an artist, label, or music marketer, you may be interested in a platform like Feature.fm. This web app offers a variety of music marketing services, including smart links. The platform is scalable, so it’s suitable for anyone from a big music production enterprise to a solo artist.
Smart links are one of Feature.fm’s standout features. To interact with fans, analyze your audience, and gather data, you can put them on a dynamic landing page. These links will also direct your audience to a variety of online music platforms where your songs are distributed.
The platform also provides access to a variety of marketing tools, such as an advertising suite, audience data, and action pages. For artists, a free plan is available with limited services, including 7-day data analytics, entry-level pre-saves, and unlimited smart links.
While Feature.fm is a great option for running campaigns, it doesn’t offer the same level of streaming insights as some of its competitors, like Linkfire. It also has limited integrations but does offer retargeting pixel integrations and marketing/analytics integrations. The pricing plans range from free to $199/month, with the option to save by paying annually.
It’s important to note that while the platform has many comparable features, the user experience may not be as smooth as other platforms like Linkfire. Additionally, if you want more than seven days of insight data, customizations, integrations, or marketing tools, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan. The self-serve ad platform is a valuable feature if you’re looking to reach fans who they already discover music, however, you won’t find the same level of in-service streaming data as you would on some other services.
Songwhip
Songwhip is a free one-click smart link builder that allows you to create a landing page for your music releases without the need to register or log in. The process is simple; you can begin by searching for a song, album, or pasting a link from a streaming platform, and Songwhip will automatically set up your landing page for free.
While Songwhip may be a convenient option for quickly creating smart links on the go, it does have some limitations. Free plans do not allow for customization of the landing page, and the premium plans lack many of the essential features offered by other smart link platforms on their basic services.
In summary, Songwhip can be a great option for those looking for a fast and easy way to create smart links on the go, but it may not be the best choice for those who are looking for more advanced features and customization options on their landing page.
Final Thoughts
Don’t wait any longer and start promoting your music right away now that you know how to do it effectively.
If you’re just getting started with digital releases and streaming platforms like Spotify, SoundCampaign’s blog is a great resource of knowledge for you. At SoundCampaign, we work with musicians from all corners of the globe to help them get their music heard by curators and included on popular playlists. This can lead to increased organic streams and a bigger fanbase on Spotify. With our assistance, there’s no reason why you can’t succeed in the music industry, especially given the opportunities that Spotify provides. Therefore, the SoundCampaign team is always at your service!
by artists for artists