There are so many platforms that you can host your music on nowadays, and every listener has their own preferences when it comes to which platform they choose to use. This poses a big challenge to artists trying to share their music to a wider audience. Smart links are the answer to this problem. They allow you to aggregate multiple links, and package them together so you can just send one simple link to people. They would be able to access your music on multiple platforms using that link. This really comes in handy for your instagram promotions too, as instagram allows you to have only one single link in your bio.
Here we have a few options to choose from, They're mostly free and have pretty cheap paid plans with loads of benefits:
Link tree is one of the more popular services in this space. Their layout is very simple and easy to use. The interface is super clean and all you need to do is add buttons and link them. There is very limited customizability though, but they offer you a really professional looking interface from the get-go so don't really need to edit things too much.
This is a basic link tree page without customization.
You can have a lot of cool customization options with their paid plans.
Cost: Free plan or 6$/mo
Pros: Super simple to use.
Cons: Lack of customizability.
SmartURL is a more complex tool. The interface can be daunting at first glance but with a little research and rummaging through their FAQs, you can get the ball rolling really quick. They provide a tonne of customizability options. You can also host official thumbnails of the platforms, which can look really cool and professional and also catch people's eye.
This is how a smartURL page would look once you have added all the links.
This is a little behind the scenes of setting up your smart link.
Cost: Free for most of the features, pro plans starting at 49$/mo.
Pros: Professional looking interface with logos of platforms.
Cons: Big learning curve and unnecessarily complicated terminology in the setup process.
Distrokid is a music distributor that first and foremost helps you get your music onto multiple platforms. They also provide a free smart link service to artists who use their services. The link is generated pretty much automatically. You have some basic customization options where you can add some custom links and also social media handles. The interface is pretty well laid out.
Below is where you can add links. Distrokid finds most of the links for you automatically, but you can always update them if there's an issue.
Cost: Free for Distrokid users
Pros: Very easy to setup, automatically links most of the big platforms for you.
Cons: Basic looking interface, lacks visual customizability.
This service basically takes all the work out of creating a smart link. It has a fully automated process that is super convenient. You just search for your song by typing in the title and it pulls the links from all the platforms and puts them together in a very concise and professional looking interface.
The search engine helps you identify your song.
This is how the smart link page would look to your viewers.
They have options for customization too, where you can add a few custom links. Besides that they have a paid plan if you really want to delve deep into the analytics side of it where you can sync it with a facebook pixel to track the people viewing and interacting with the link.
Cost: Free and paid plan at 1.99$/mo
Pros: Fully automated and reliably sources the links for you.
Cons: Interface can't be customized too much on basic plan.
So there you go, optimize your instagram 'link in bio', make visiting cards with a smart link on them and hand them out to strangers, tattoo your smart link on your forehead, do whatever it takes to get your music out there. The hustle is real! All the best :)
P.S If you're a musician looking to promote your music, sign up for the giveaway (click the button below) and you have a chance to get your music placed on a massive Spotify playlist! :)
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