For a video tutorial on this FAQ topic, watch here:
(Note: in the video we said Soundcloud is a supported store for preview sourcing and that is incorrect)
Setting up your Song Preview
When creating a Pre-Save link for an upcoming release, or a Music Smart Link for an already released track/album, both link types allow you to include a Song Preview. You find this feature under the “Link Settings'' tab when setting up the Pre-Save or Music Smart Link landing page.
To include a Preview in a Music Smart Link, select one of the supported DSPs from the drop-down menu under “Link Settings;” or for a Pre-Save, select “Other” from the dropdown menu and then enter a URL for either an unpublished YouTube video or mp3 file (e.g. a Dropbox link). Your Preview will appear in the sample landing page to the right hand side of your screen; press the Play button to hear how it sounds.
If you do not want to include any Song Preview, select “None.”
Preview Sources for Music Smart Links
We currently support the following preview sources: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, YouTube and mp3 files. There are some instances where a preview is not available from these DSPs, but not often.
Most of the supported preview sources are applicable only if the song has already been released, e.g. and you are setting up a Music Smart Link. The Feature.fm system will automatically try to source a preview from Spotify, then Apple Music, then Deezer in that order, depending on if a preview is available through the DSP. You can opt for a different Preview Source by selecting “Other” from the Preview Source drop down menu and pasting the desired URL into the field.
Preview Sources for Pre-Saves
For a Pre-Save you can source a preview using either an unpublished YouTube video or an mp3 file uploaded with a Dropbox link since the song or album will not be publicly available yet. To add one of these sources, select “Other” from the Preview Source drop down menu and paste the desired URL into the field. Note: If using a Dropbox link, you may need to add dl=1 to the URL ending.
If the Pre-save link is for an EP or album and you have released an Instant Grat track or dropped several singles in a Waterfall release style before the full album drops, you could add a URL linking to one of the released tracks as your Preview.
Audio vs Video Embeds
The Song Preview is typically a 30-second audio clip that can be played directly from the Pre-Save or Music Smart Link landing page, enticing fans to take the desired action of either link (e.g. pre-save, play, download).
For YouTube, the Preview will include full-length audio and a video embed. Generally, it is the official Art Track that gets sourced by default through YouTube, which includes full-length audio and the song’s cover art laid over the music. If you want the preview to be a different YouTube video, e.g. if there is an official music video for the song, or if you are sourcing a preview from an unpublished YouTube video, you will select “Other” as the Preview Source and paste the desired URL into the link field (similar to a Pre-Save preview).
In all other instances where your preview is audio only, including mp3 files, you can choose to upload an image through the Link Settings that will appear on the landing page overlaying the audio clip.