Pre-Save Campaign Advertising

Pre-save campaign advertising drives listeners to save upcoming releases before the official release date. These campaigns build anticipation and set up stronger release day performance by ensuring music appears automatically in fans’ libraries when it becomes available.

What Is Pre-Save Campaign Advertising

Pre-save campaign advertising uses paid promotion to encourage potential fans to pre-save an upcoming release on streaming platforms. When listeners pre-save a track, it automatically adds to their library or playlist on release day, generating immediate streams and signaling interest to platform algorithms.

Pre-save functionality exists on Spotify, Apple Music, and other major streaming services. Artists typically create pre-save links through their distributors or smart link services that direct users to save the upcoming release on their preferred platform. Advertising then drives traffic to these pre-save landing pages.

The value of pre-saves extends beyond the saves themselves. High pre-save counts indicate audience interest, potentially influencing editorial playlist consideration. Release day streams from pre-saves contribute to crucial first-week performance metrics. The action of pre-saving also creates a psychological commitment that increases the likelihood of actual listening.

How Pre-Save Campaign Advertising Works

Pre-save campaigns run during the window between announcing a release and the actual release date. This typically spans one to four weeks, though campaigns can be shorter for surprise releases or longer for major anticipated projects.

Campaign setup involves creating pre-save links through services like Feature.fm, Linkfire, ToneDen, or distributor-provided tools. These services generate landing pages where visitors can pre-save across multiple platforms with a single click. The landing page URL becomes the destination for advertising campaigns.

Advertising creative for pre-save campaigns should clearly communicate the pre-release status and release date. Visual elements like cover art, teaser clips, or artist imagery create interest, while copy emphasizes the upcoming date and calls listeners to pre-save. Phrases like “Pre-save now” or “Available [Date]” clarify the action being requested.

Platform selection for pre-save advertising depends on audience location. Social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook provide precise targeting. Display advertising on music websites reaches engaged music fans at accessible rates, often around $2.50 CPM. Some artists use multiple platforms to maximize reach during the limited pre-release window.

Budget allocation for pre-save campaigns typically represents a smaller portion of total release promotion, often 15-25% of the advertising budget. The majority of spending usually concentrates on release week when the music is actually available.

Key Considerations

• Pre-save links must be set up through distributors before campaigns can launch
• Campaign duration depends on release timeline and announcement strategy
• Creative should clearly communicate the pre-release status to avoid confusion
• Tracking pre-save conversions helps measure campaign effectiveness

Common Questions

How many pre-saves should a campaign aim for?

Pre-save targets depend on existing audience size, advertising budget, and release expectations. Emerging artists might aim for hundreds of pre-saves, while established independents might target thousands. Rather than focusing on absolute numbers, artists should track the pre-save rate (pre-saves divided by link clicks) to evaluate campaign efficiency. Rates around 10-30% indicate reasonable performance, though this varies by audience warmth and landing page quality.

Should all artists run pre-save advertising campaigns?

Pre-save advertising provides the most value when audience awareness already exists or can be built quickly. Artists with engaged social followings, email lists, or previous release history benefit from concentrated pre-save pushes. Artists releasing debut music to completely cold audiences might find release-day advertising more effective, as asking strangers to pre-save music they have never heard faces conversion challenges. Testing small pre-save campaigns reveals whether the approach works for specific situations.

Summary

Pre-save campaign advertising builds release day momentum by driving listeners to save upcoming music before it drops. Campaigns run during the pre-release window using smart links that enable easy cross-platform saves. While typically representing a smaller portion of total release budgets, effective pre-save advertising contributes to stronger first-week performance and algorithmic consideration.