Whilst it may seem more convenient to get your music out as quickly as possible, there are many benefits to setting a pre-order date for your music.
This is plain to see; take a look at any of your favourite artists, and you’ll see that they announce their albums months (sometimes over a year) in advance of the release date. This gives them ample time to whip their fans into a frenzy. Not only will a pre-order campaign boost your sales, but it’ll also allow you to make sure your release is perfectly up-to-scratch. It’ll also give your fans a definite date to put in their diaries. Let’s take a look at the mechanical side of the pre-order process.
Pre-ordered releases are delivered in exactly the same way as any other release. To define your release date, set the date you’d like in the Original Release Start Date on MyClientZone:
By default, it will be set to today’s date. Changing this field will not change when we deliver your release to stores, but rather when your release becomes publicly available on stores. At the moment, only Amazon, 7Digital, Google Play and iTunes support pre-ordering.
As soon as stores receive your release, fans can pre-purchase your album. They can then download your release from 12am on your specified release date. If your fans have the automatic download feature turned on, then the release will be automatically added to their iTunes library upon release.
Setting up a Pre-Order
This is nice and easy to do. Next to Original Release Start Date, you will see the box for Pre-Order Date where you can select your preferred date. If you do not need a pre-order, simply leave this blank.
iTunes also offers a service known as Instant Gratification. This grants anyone who pre-orders your album up to two free tracks that they can listen to immediately. You can also specify if you’d like any tracks to become Album Only. This feature will disable previews and individual track purchasing. Please email us with your barcode and the tracks you’d like to enable if you’d like to set these up.
Enabling pre-orders is a great way of laying the foundation for a promotional campaign. It also allows you to take advantage of the run up to certain events and holidays, such as Christmas or Easter. It makes sure that your audience, and any potential new fans, are fully aware of your upcoming release.
If you have any further questions or if you’d like to know more, then please drop us a message.
