(Hypebot) — Unlock the secrets to boosting your streams with this Musician’s Guide To Spotify Countdown Pages. Learn how this powerful tool can amplify your music release strategy and keep your fans engaged.
Musician’s Guide To Spotify Countdown Pages
by Chris Robley of Reverbnation Blog
Spotify has added something pretty huge to your music promo toolkit.
They’re going big with Countdown Pages, which Spotify describes as “your ultimate pre-release destination.”
Here are the most important things you should know:
To help you build hype for an upcoming release, Spotify has combined the following features on one page:
- Pre-saves
- A preview of the tracklist
- A timer counting down to launch
- Clips to give fans a closer look
- Merch offers
- Fan notifications when your music goes live
In Spotify’s words, this tool will “close the gap between where music is teased and where it’s actually streamed.”
Simplifying the waterfall release
One of the most interesting aspects of Countdown Pages is… they’re dynamic.
So Countdown Pages streamline the distribution mechanics of a waterfall release, which is where you once had to “grow” an album over time by first releasing a single, then a new single bundled with the older song, then a third single along with the previous two tracks, and so forth.
It’s not rocket science, but managing waterfall releases in that manner was one extra stress during a season where you really should save your mental space and time for effective music promotion. Not busy-work.
Now you can drop new singles, merch items, and Clips over a longer duration and use the same destination — the Countdown Page — to boost engagement and pre-saves.
No more 3rd-party pre-saves?
Countdown Pages bring together many elements of Spotify’s on-platform promo in a more coordinated way. But they also could eliminate the need for artists to use 3rd-party pre-save tools and smartlinks?
I say “could” because you may have a large segment of fans who prefer different music platforms to Spotify, and you don’t want to ostracize them from your release promo just because Spotify made your life simpler on their platform.
But as much as I warn musicians that “your fans aren’t ALL on Spotify,” let’s be realistic: I know a huge percentage of you are STILL only gonna post links to Spotify.
So fine. If you’re that kinda artist, by all means, just use Spotify’s Countdown Page and forget about smartlinks and pre-saves.
Except if you have a small fanbase. Or when you’re launching a single. Or when doing a “split right” collaborative release.
Because…
Who is eligible to use Countdown Pages?
Countdown Pages are only available for albums released under one artist name. Spotify said they’d like to expand beyond that in the future. But currently you can only use Countdown Pages if you have:
- more than 5k monthly listeners (based on 28-day streaming history)
- an upcoming album
- distributed that music to Spotify with a future release date
HERE’S HOW TO CHECK IF YOU’RE ELIGIBLE:
- Log into Spotify for Artists
- Go to Audience then Segments
- Click Active audience to see how many active listeners you have
What kind of artists should use Spotify’s Countdown Pages?
The case to use Countdown Pages is pretty strong.
Spotify claims that on average, nearly 70% of listeners who used the on-platform pre-save option went on to stream the album in its first week.
AND EARLY TESTIMONIALS SHOW HOW EFFECTIVE COUNTDOWN PAGES CAN BE:
Countdown Pages generated 6X more pre-saves than our off-platform buy link for several artists on our roster. The tool has been instrumental in helping to reach our chart goals.
—Emily Puterbaugh – GLOBAL DIRECTOR OF STREAMING & DIGITAL SALES, SECRETLY GROUP
Keep in mind though, these stats often apply to spotlight artists and prestige labels who get to test-drive the tools before a massive rollout. But it’s also true that platforms often reward creators who adopt new features. Because increasing your visibility builds awareness for their tools too.
SO MY SIMPLE RECOMMENDATION IS:
If you meet the minimum listener criteria, use Countdown Pages!
Even if you’re a debut artist. If nothing else, it’ll help you organize your promo materials, motivate you to create vertical video content that supports the release, and keep you on schedule.
And if you do already have 5k+ monthly listeners, a Countdown Page might be just the thing to reach them again where they already are (on Spotify!), get them excited, and create an easy pathway for them to return to your album once it’s live.
How to make the most of your Spotify launch with Countdown Pages
First, obviously, you’ll need to create a Countdown Page.
Then there are some additional steps you should take to get the most from your Spotify Countdown Page prior to your release date.
THESE INCLUDE:
- Pitch your upcoming music to Spotify’s editorial team
- Set aside a day or two to batch-record a bunch of vertical video for Clips
- Create Canvas video for each track
- Add new merch items
- Pin your Countdown Page to the top of your profile using Artist’s Pick
For more info and inspiration, check out these Countdown Pages examples!
