What is a pre-order and how to set up yours

What is a pre-order?

A pre-order is when you make a release available for sale before your official release date.

This is a great marketing tool, as it allows you to engage with your fanbase before your release is published and it helps you with marketing on social media and press. With pre-orders your fans will automatically receive your music on the release date. This can help you rise on iTunes, Amazon and Beatport charts, creating a higher profile for your release.

Please note: the pre-order will start at the exact same day on all the chosen stores. It is not possible to:

choose different pre-order dates on different stores
set a pre-order for a past date
set a pre-order for date past the release date

Screenshot of the iTunes Store on Mac with an album that you can pre-order by Fitz and the Tantrums.

Which digital stores support this option?

We offer you the possibility of setting up a pre-order on the following shops: iTunes, Google Play, Amazon and Beatport (electronic music only).

If your fans were to buy your music before its official release, you can show your gratitude by allowing them to immediately download up to 50% of the total tracks on the release. This feature is called Instant Gratification and it's available on iTunes / Apple Music and Tidal.

IMPORTANT: Instant gratification tracks will also be available on Deezer, Google Play and Amazon. If you want to make those tracks available on Spotify at the same time, you will need to create an additional single release for Spotify (contact us after uploading the additional single realease for Spotify and we will give you promo credits to pay the invoice).

BEATPORT: if you want to set a pre-order on Beaport you need to already have a label page on Beatport otherwise we need to set it up for you. In this case please send us the logo of your label in .JPEG 1500x1500 pixels as described in the email (subject "Your distribution request for Beatport and Traxsource") we have sent you. Note: a label page creation can take up to 2 weeks.

How much does it cost?

To request and set up a pre-order you have 2 options.

1. Pre-order is included in our Artists Pro package for only € 39. It also includes other promotional tools such as the "Save-It" now! page on Spotify and the Promo player.

If you want to take advantage of the other promotional tools included in Artist Pro, all you have to do is: access your iMusician account, upload the release you want to promote and buy Artist Pro from the Services section (on the left).

We will then send you an email with a link to a form.

2. It's just as simple to request a pre-order as a single service.

Once you have finalized uploading your release on our platform, send us an email at support-en@imusician.pro. We will need the following information:

artist name;
release title;
barcode (you can find it in the confirmation email);
the start date of the pre-order;
Instant Gratification tracks (link FAQ). Please provide track names separated by a comma.
Pre-listening period. Pre-listening excerpts range from 30 to 90 seconds depending on the online store and you can decide when to have them start using the dynamic bar in the "Tracks" section when uploading your record release to our platform.

After receiving your email, we will create a € 10 invoice and start to process your request.

How long does it take?

We need at least 10 working days to set up the Artist Pro tools for your release. For example: If you want pre-sales to start 4 weeks before release date, you will need to submit the necessary content 6 weeks prior to that date.

What is a pre-order and how to set up yours