Pre-Save · November 7, 2023

Will Pre-Saves Still Be Effective? The Truth Behind Spotify Pre-Save Campaigns

Updated 2026 note: this older breakdown is still useful, but the main guide now lives here: Spotify Pre-Save Campaigns: The 2026 Guide for Artists.

You just submitted your track to your distributor. You want to create some hype around your release, and tease the living heck out of it to get a huge streaming push. You want to score some editorial playlists.

Enter: the pre-save.

The question at hand is whether or not pre-saves are still an effective way to promote your unreleased music.

The short answer is no.

And before you come at me saying "everybody is running pre-saves so they must work", I encourage you to read this with an open mind — just because everybody is doing it doesn't mean you should too.

What Is a Pre-Save?

A Spotify pre-save is when a listener saves your upcoming release to their library before it comes out. On release day, the track automatically appears in their library and on their Release Radar playlist. The idea is that pre-saves create Day 1 momentum and signal to Spotify's algorithm that your release has demand.

Why Pre-Saves Don't Work as Well Anymore

Here's the core problem: Spotify's algorithm no longer weights pre-saves the way it once did. The correlation between pre-save counts and editorial playlist consideration is weak at best. Spotify's editorial team is looking at much bigger signals — your overall Spotify growth trajectory, your existing audience size, how your previous releases performed.

Beyond that, fans who pre-save your music often do so and then forget about it. They weren't driven to the music by genuine excitement — they were driven by a marketing prompt. That passive engagement doesn't create real fans.

What Actually Works Instead

Instead of spending energy driving pre-saves, invest in:

• Building genuine excitement: Tease the song on TikTok and Reels with behind-the-scenes content that makes people want to hear the full song
• Growing your Spotify following before the release: More followers means more Release Radar placements
• Email list building: Drive fans to your email list — you own that relationship regardless of platform changes
• Targeted ads at launch: Running ads during your release week drives real streams from real listeners who are discovering your music for the first time

If You Still Want to Run a Pre-Save Campaign

If your label, manager, or team insists on a pre-save campaign, here's how to do it with realistic expectations: treat it as an engagement exercise rather than an algorithmic play. Use it to collect fan emails via your pre-save landing page. Offer something in exchange — exclusive content, early access, a behind-the-scenes video. This way, even if the pre-save numbers don't move the algorithm, you've built your list.

For a full release strategy that actually works in today's landscape, talk to simpl.

About the author

Anthony Pacheco

Anthony Pacheco is the founder of simpl., a former Sony Music analyst, and a Billboard-charting musician who has helped run 750+ artist marketing campaigns. He writes about real listener behavior, release systems, Spotify ads, and how artists can grow without fake playlist traffic.