What Is a Smart Link? How It Works and How Musicians Use It
A smart link is a single web address that leads to a small page with buttons for the streaming services your song is on. Whoever clicks picks their service and lands right on the song. That sounds like a detail, but it solves a real problem: your listeners are spread across many apps, and a plain Spotify link leaves out everyone who uses Apple Music, Amazon Music or Deezer. Here you will learn how a smart link is built, why you need one and how it works at OGRECORDS™.
How a smart link is built
The page behind the link usually shows the cover, the title and the artist name, followed by a list of services such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music or Deezer. Each button goes straight to the song on that service. On a phone, the matching app usually opens right away.
For you, that means one address per release instead of a handful. You can put it in your bio, print it on a poster or add it to a story without first thinking about which app your audience uses. Your listeners skip the search. They do not have to type your name into their app and hope the right artist comes up.
Smart links and pre-saves: before and after release
Before release, the song is not in the apps yet, so there is nothing to play. During that phase the link does a different job: fans can pre-save the song. On release day it then appears in their library automatically. Our glossary explains exactly what a pre-save is.
At OGRECORDS™ the pre-save is active automatically as soon as you submit your release. The earlier you upload, the longer you can share the link before release. If you submit only five business days ahead, you have very little time for this phase. So plan your upload to leave yourself at least two to three weeks for sharing.
Where to use your smart link
The most important spot is your bio on Instagram and TikTok, because that is where people look for your music after seeing one of your clips. Then there are story links, the description under your YouTube videos, your newsletter and the messages to friends and family you send anyway.
It pays off offline as well. Print the link or a QR code on flyers, posters, merch or the screen at a show. Make sure the link is short enough to type in case the QR code does not work. A short address on ogr.fm is meant for exactly that.
When a new release is coming, swap the link in your bio for the new one. A profile that still points to the old song weeks after the next release sends new listeners to the wrong place. Older links in posts and video descriptions can stay as they are, since they keep leading to the song that post was about.
Common smart link mistakes
The most common mistake is sharing the link only on release day. That skips the whole pre-save phase and wastes the curiosity you could have built in the weeks before. Another frequent one is handing out several links for the same release, one for Spotify, one for Apple, one for YouTube. It confuses people and scatters your clicks.
A further mistake happens during the upload itself. If your artist name is not spelled exactly as on your previous releases, the song can end up on a wrong or new profile on one of the services. The smart link will still lead to the song, but not to your profile with the rest of your releases. Check the spelling carefully before you submit.
Smart links at OGRECORDS™
At OGRECORDS™, smart links on ogr.fm and pre-saves are included at no extra cost. You upload your release once, choose from 38 stores including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TikTok and YouTube Music, and then share a single link.
Distribution itself has no subscription and no fee per release. We keep 10% of your earnings, so you only pay when you earn. Your masters stay 100% yours, and the deal is non-exclusive. You can read how it all fits together on our music distribution page.
Upload your next release to OGRECORDS™ and share one link for every service from the moment you submit.