Spotify’s new on-platform feature lets listeners pre-save music albums weeks before they’re released, starting with Florence + The Machine’s new album.
- A new Spotify feature in testing adds a “Pre-Save” button to artists’ profile pages.
- A dedicated page provides a countdown to the release, a preview of the tracklisting and short videos that the artist may choose to provide.
- The feature is being tested first with “Dance Fever,” the latest album by the British artist Florence + The Machine which is scheduled to release on May 13.
How pre-saving an album on Spotify works
Pre-saving an album on Spotify sounds much like pre-ordering a game from the App Store ahead of its release. All it does is ensure the content is downloaded to your device as soon as it’s released. Spotify is now testing pre-saving albums with a single artist, Florence + The Machine, whose new album “Dance Fever” is available to pre-save now even though it won’t release before May 13. So it’ll work just pre-ordering an App Store game: As soon as “Dance Fever” drops, everyone who pre-saved the album shall receive a notification on their iPhone informing them it’s now available to listen to on Spotify. Read: 3 ways to set a sleep timer on Spotify
A Spotify spokesperson has confirmed the feature to Musically:
Spotify is testing a new pre-release experience. We routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve artist and fan experiences. Some of those tests end up paving the way for a broader experience and others serve only as an important learning.
Actually, some labels and artists have been using pre-saves on Spotify since 2016 as a marketing vehicle so what’s the difference between now and then? Well, before this new test record labels had to develop pre-save tools themselves and tap Spotify’s API. The new Spotify test basically makes pre-saves an on-platform feature that doesn’t need any kind of software support on the record label end.
A dedicated pre-save page
Spotify pre-saves apparently include a dedicated screen with extra information. It lists all your pre-saved albums along with album artwork, a clock counting down to the release, short promotional videos and a preview of the tracklisting. If some of the songs have already been released, they will be playable right from that dedicated page. Tracks that aren’t currently available appear greyed out.
When will Spotify launch pre-saves for everyone?
Spotify is currently testing pre-saving albums in its iPhone app. The feature is currently unavailable on Spotify for Android, but will soon expand to Google’s platform. As for Spotify’s desktop app, it’s unclear when pre-saves might expand there. This tells you that the ability to pre-save Spotify albums is currently in an early testing phase, and Spotify could pull it at any time. If not, expect this feature to officially arrive sometime in the next few weeks. We’ll keep you posted!
Pre-saves on Apple Music
Pre-saving upcoming content isn’t a new concept—Apple quietly introduced such a feature on Apple Music back in 2018, dubbing it pre-adds. You can check it out by hitting “See All” next to the “Coming Soon” heading located near the bottom of the Music app’s “Browse” tab. Apple’s description of the feature says that you can “pre-add this album now and once it’s released, the entire album will be available in your library instantly.” Read: What is Private Session in Spotify and how to turn it on