Spotify pre-save: what it is and how it works

A pre-save lets a fan save a song or album before it's out. On release day it lands in their Spotify library by itself. For the fan it's a reminder that takes care of itself. For you it turns the attention an announcement gets into listening on the day the song comes out.

This guide covers what a pre-save does on each side, how fans pre-save on Spotify, the two kinds of pre-save (a link and Spotify's own Countdown Pages) and what a good pre-save link needs.

What a pre-save does

Before release day, a song exists in the stores' systems but nobody can play it. A pre-save is a fan saying "add this to my library when it's out." On Spotify, the song or album is saved to the fan's library at release, and with a Countdown Page Spotify also sends the fan a notification.

Other stores have their own version. Apple Music calls it a pre-add, for albums and EPs, and some stores take pre-orders. A good pre-save link offers the fan whichever service they use.

What it does for fans

A fan who sees your announcement might be on a bus, at work or halfway through something else. Without a pre-save they have to remember your release date and come back. With one, the song is in their library on the morning it comes out, waiting for them. It's the easiest way for a fan to say "I'm in" before there's anything to play.

What it does for the artist

For you, a pre-save turns interest into listening at the moment it counts most:

• Plays on release day. Spotify says that, on average, nearly 60% of people who pre-save an album stream it in the first week.
• Saves from the start. A pre-saved song is already in the fan's library, which is the kind of listening Spotify's recommendations read. More on that in how Discover Weekly picks songs.
• A count you can see. Pre-save numbers show you how the announcement is landing before the song is out.
• Fans you can reach again. Some pre-save links ask fans whether they want to follow you or hear about the next release.

How to pre-save on Spotify

There are two ways a fan pre-saves on Spotify, and it helps to know both when you tell your audience what to do.

From a pre-save link

1. Open the artist's pre-save link.
2. Choose Spotify (or another store) and sign in to that account.
3. Allow the link to save the release to your library.
4. On release day, the song is in your library.

The link asks for permission because it saves to the fan's account on their behalf. Fans can remove that permission from their Spotify account at any time.

From a Countdown Page

Countdown Pages are Spotify's own pre-release pages. Fans find them on the artist's profile, in Search, on Home and in the Upcoming Releases hub, press Pre-save, and Spotify adds the release to their library on the day and sends a notification. Spotify's rules, as of November 2026:

• the artist needs at least 3,000 monthly active listeners;
• the release is a new, original album or EP (singles, reissues and deluxe editions don't qualify);
• the page is made in Spotify for Artists, under Music, then Upcoming, once the distributor has delivered the release.

A single, or an album by an artist below the threshold, uses a pre-save link instead.

What a good pre-save link needs

• Every store. Your fans don't all use Spotify. The link should offer Apple Music and the others too.
• One link before and after. The same link should take pre-saves while the song is coming and open it in the stores from release day on, so a post from the announcement still works later.
• Your cover and title, so the fan knows it's you before they press anything.
• A short path. Few steps between the post and the save.
• A delivered release. The stores need the release in their systems before a pre-save can point at it, which is one more reason to send music in good time. Our guide to releasing music covers the timing in general.

Where Audora sets up your pre-save

On Audora the pre-save comes with the release:

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• When your release is delivered, Audora gives you its release link. It takes pre-saves before release day and opens the release from release day on, wherever it's shared.
• Albums and EPs can open for pre-orders and Apple Music pre-adds.
• Fans who sign up for new-music emails on your artist page get one email per release: the pre-save while it's coming, the out-now with your store links on the day.
• The pre-save comes up on the release's calendar on the day it matters, alongside your pitch in Spotify for Artists and the Canvas.
• The promotion campaign around release day carries the link in its posts, written in your voice for you to approve.

TikTok, YouTube, Instagram (Stories included) and Facebook Pages post automatically, and nothing goes out until you approve it. Stories carry no link sticker, so your release link goes in your bio.

When to share the link, and what goes with it, is part of the dated steps in your Audora account. We keep adjusting those steps as we learn what works best for the artists releasing with us, so each release gets the current version. To see everything else a release gets, read what every track gets.