In this how-to piece, Chris Robley details how artists can get their unique identifying Spotify URI in advance of releasing their music on the platform, thereby allowing listeners to pre-save music before its dropped.
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By Chris Robley of CD Baby of the DIY Musician blog
In order to set up a Spotify pre-save, you’ll need the URI for your unreleased music.
A URI is Spotify’s unique identifier for music on their platform.
If you’re looking for the URI for music that is already available on Spotify, it’s simple; you just click the ellipses (the three dots) next to the track, album, or playlist, scroll down, and copy that URI.
But how the hell are you supposed to get the identifier code for music that hasn’t been released yet?
CD Baby’s music marketing platform Show.co makes it simple.
Easy steps to getting your Spotify URI
I’m going to assume you’re here because you want to create a Spotify pre-save campaign. I mean, why else would you need a Spotify URI ahead of time?
With Show.co, you can get the URI for your unreleased music AND launch a Spotify pre-save at the same time.
- Distribute your music to Spotify via CD Baby
- Set a release date in the future (give yourself at least a couple weeks to get the most out of your pre-save campaign)
- Confirm that your music has been delivered to Spotify by going to the “Distribution: Partner Delivery” section of your CD Baby dashboard
- If you don’t have a free Show.co account, create one FROM WITHIN YOUR CD BABY DASHBOARD by clicking the “Free Marketing Tools” link
- If you don’t have a CD Baby account, they’re also free — so get started HERE
- Log into your Show.co account
- Click NEW CAMPAIGN in the top right
- Select “Social Unlock”
- Choose “Spotify: Pre-Save” from the campaign type dropdown
- Select “CD Baby UPC” as the identifier
- Enter your UPC, which should be a 12-digit code
Through our linkup with Spotify, we’ll then locate your URI, pop it into your Show.co campaign, and you can continue setting up your pre-save.
Please note: if your music is already available, you can’t do a pre-save — because that’s only for music that’s NOT yet released on Spotify. If you’re trying to enter the UPC for older releases, you’ll see a warning message like the one below.
If you get that warning message, don’t be sad.
There are a lot of ways to promote your music on Spotify, even if it’s been out for a while. Just create a different kind of campaign from the dropdown menu, such as:
- Stream on Spotify
- Add to My Music on Spotify
- Add to My Playlist on Spotify
- or Follow on Spotify
Don’t have a Show.co account yet? They’re free for all CD Baby account holders — and CD Baby accounts are ALSO free. So there’s no cost to launch a Spotify pre-save!
Chris Robley is the Editor of CD Baby’s DIY Musician Blog. I write Beatlesque indie-pop songs that’ve been praised by No Depression, KCRW, The LA Times, & others. My poems have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Prairie Schooner, The Poetry Review, & more. I live in Maine and like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, a little too much.