In this video, I discuss why pre-saves are bad for your music promotion and why they don’t do what you think they do. I break down:
► Why pre saves are bad for boosting listens on Spotify
► Why Spotify squander your promotions
► Why it’s impossible for pre saves to help you get on Spotify playlists
Andrew Southworth’s video of us talking – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbDZTUUSEV8&t=73s
Why Teasing Your Songs Is Bad Music Promotion – https://youtu.be/NarYQzfTM54
What To Do Instead Of Pre-Saves – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0i-5Ujnd4VVckEVaE1_RUcLzPF8U680K
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In this thought-provoking YouTube video, we explore a critical perspective on music promotion by delving into the reasons why pre-saves might not be as beneficial as commonly perceived. Unpacking the inherent limitations of pre-saves, we address the misconception that they significantly boost listens on Spotify, shedding light on the mechanisms by which Spotify handles promotions. Furthermore, we underscore the challenges and impossibilities of relying on pre-saves as a key strategy to secure coveted spots on Spotify playlists. This video serves as a valuable resource for artists and music marketers seeking a more comprehensive understanding of effective music promotion strategies and the nuances of utilizing pre-saves in today’s digital music landscape.
#musicmarketing #musicpromotion #spotifymarketing
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If you are confused about what to do to promote your music instead of using pre saves start watching these videos – How To Go From 0 To 10k Fans https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0i-5Ujnd4VVckEVaE1_RUcLzPF8U680K
Is this still true in 2024?
100% – it also isn't very useful data for the recommendation engine, since the save occurs before the listen. So, it's a more risky "positive signal" for recommendation data than someone streaming and then saving.
Spotify do not have pre-save function. As an artist I'v checked this and got clear response from Spotify. Ask your self….has anyone got any notification after using pre-save. No. So save your time and focus on something else.
You're wonderful my friend. Outstanding content as usual. I've been watching for a few months now. I cannot thank you enough!
How do I unpre save?
Look ma no fans lol
Who cares, just try to make good music for musics sake and swallow your ego I'dsay. I've been doing a lot of swallowing let me tell you dat lol
I bought Danzig 4 the week it came out because of a 5 second sample that was teased on MTV News.
I rushed to Yelle's YouTube channel the morning they debuted their new video because of the 10 second teaser of the video they released a few days before.
You can absolutely build a relationship with a teaser, that taste that leaves you wanting more.
As exciting as news of a release date may be for an artist you love, the anticipation of the new release is heightened when you're given a taste beforehand.
When I see bands promoting music that isn't out yet, I always think 'why waste a first impression?' You got my attention right now, but you're not giving me anything (except for a future task).
Great advice! but I'm a rebel 🤣 ….anyone want to presave my song? https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/mpbanga/vibrations
Been binging your videos man, this is fantastic, just bought your book. Can't express how refreshing it is to find a music marketing channel that isn't overflowing with clickbait bullshit. Appreciate you man!
Awesome. I did so many things wrong in the past two weeks.
I want to go and say sorry to everyone i asked to pre-save my song now.
So, you just said Follows are important as well right, with the Hyperfollow PreSave option provided by Distrokid, when someone PreSaves my song, they also follow me, so in that case, it is worth it to get ppl to PRE-SAVE through my Hyperfollow link right?
You’re content is so good and informative
Hey Jesse, on a previous video about Spotify playlist promotion, you say that the more follows you have, the more of a chance you'll get on playlists. So asking for follows is good, and asking for pre-saves is bad correct?
Hi Musformation, thanks so much for the videos so far! Might buy your book! I have a question. A lot of musicians use Patreon to generate an income. One of the benefits an artist like me could offer is early access to song releases, which is what I'm doing. This does make me want to post teasers so that non-patrons get a glimpse of what they're missing out on. I'm not saying that it's really working so far, but for this strategy, I'm not sure what else to do. Do you have any idea?
More priceless pearls of wisdom from our snarky marketing expert. Thanks Jesse!
Here because of Finn Mckenty
Whilst you're absolutely right in that it's not going to do a lot to get you on editorial playlists, there are definitely benefits to running a pre-save campaign that go a little bit beyond that. As another person has commented, for one you can add a follow command into it too, giving you a boost of followers on the day of release – this is certainly helpful in terms of algorithmic playlists.
There's also the massive secondary benefit in that the reports that you draw down from the campaign will give you the email address of those who have pre-saved, allowing you to contact people who have shown an interest to remind them on the day of release, without having to worry if the Facebook algorithm gods are smiling upon you on that day. After all, as much as we'd like them to, your average listener doesn't necessarily live on Spotify, and might need that extra reminder. From there, you can try to deepen that relationship by enticing them into your mailing list.
Ultimately, they're not the be-all and end-all, but they're an incredibly useful tool in a wider campaign.
This just blew my mind! Finn from Punk Rock MBA sent me! So my new band was about to invest in playlist presaves for our upcoming debut EP, but this has changed my whole perspective. Just subscribed! 👽🤘 keep up the great work!
When I announced my album, over 1000 people on my social medias showed interest. When I set up the pre-save only 200 saved it. I should have just dropped the album instead of announcing it and I would have got so much more interest 🤣 I did eventually get the streams but it just goes to show, these pre release campaigns aren't all they're cracked up to be
Incredible content. Your info helped me get my song on Yellowstone
Yo Jesse found you via Andrew southworth dope to have your perspective I listened to what you’ve been saying and I’ve been doing a fair amount of it such as doing my best to shoot music videos (only a few on my channel as another channel used to host them) to connect to my audience and promote them with as much money as I can before moving to the next one. Singles only w visuals 90% of the time. Budget goes on YT and IG ads. When I run my YT ads for example i can get 90-100 subs a day on a £15-20 daily budget (I’m in a niche – trap metal – so it’s easier? to stand out). My q is though, I don’t wanna be a “Spotify artist” like these ppl that just release singles with no visuals and put all their efforts into Spotify. Granted their Spotify can be popping and they can even make good money from this (like the ppl Andrew interviewed recently) but does Spotify actually get u any “community growth”. I like u cuz that’s always been key (hence the visuals) to me and seems to be ur main point.
TLDR; how much % of our monthly budget for a single (with a visual) should be invested into Spotify vs IG ads to (build ig following) and our YT. I feel like Spotify listeners don’t rly convert to follow u on IG (for some reason I measure an ig follower and growing there as the most important)
Artists please don’t listen to this video. Presaving is one of the better ways to spend your time promoting your track before release while also being completely free.
One of the most important ways to get that Spotify algorithmic playlist growth is maintaining a high save rate (listeners / saves). Presave campaigns are one of the easiest ways to influence this metric and improve your chances of favorable algorithmic growth.
Presaves are not a godsend, they may not help you get into EDITORIAL playlists but they are helpful and this video is extremely dramatic.
This is really good to know, thank you.
In my Spotify desktop client I can still see "Your library" right there, with "Made For You", "Recently played" and "Liked songs". Odd that you're missing them.
I also got that same feeling about pre-saves when I looked into this when doing research before I started promoting an upcoming album. Pre-saves are just annoying, confusing and also unreliable. A musician friend of mine posted a pre-save link for their new single a couple of months ago, and I just tested it out to see what happens. On release day I could not even find the new song in my library, all I got was an e-mail from Distrokid the day after telling me the song is out. So it looks like Distrokid wasn't even able to actually save the song for me.
Distrokids hyperfollow does both presave and follow at the same time. So its worth doing just for the follows (and email addresses).
Good video. I was honestly confused by those things and it's good to know they are indeed a waste of time. 🤘💜
God dammit where was this video a month ago! Haha
I busted my ass to get nearly 600 “pre-saves and follows” on my new single before release day, really worked at it hard. Then the song came out and did absolutely nothing on Spotify, a grand total of 1800 streams so far 👏😄🙃😭 still a bit traumatised
Thanks for the shoutout dude! Glad we agree on this, and I appreciate your unique spin on this topic compared to mine so I shared it on my Community page.
At most, pre-saving a song can be viewed as a form of passive ‘commitment’ from a listener.
After enough exposure through awareness campaigns, a successful pre-save could act as a trigger when I’m notified the song is out.
“Didn’t I do something about this song? Oh yeah! I clicked that button, guess I’ll listen.”
And at best, you secured an email address out of it. 🤷🏽♂️
Nice video!
This is such a relief! I was gritting my teeth thinking I needed to do presaves. Thanks for the killer info!
Good stuff – your idea about building relationships instead of "anticipation" makes total sense in the modern social media landscape, where you want everyone who potentially sees you to have something to connect with and bond with you. I took that info to heart and it's what I've been focusing more on lately.