As an indie musician do I need to create download gateways? That was the question I asked myself.
So what is a download gateway?
It is a link from one page where your music is located that takes your fan to a download link when they sign up to follow you or give you their email address. In some cases they can automatically become a follower when they click on the download button (FollowGate on SoundCloud) but who wants to trick ppl?
So, lets look at the various tools out there, what they offer and the cost. Since everyone is trying to make a buck off of us indies we have to put our money only where it really brings us results. If growing your fanbase and email list is a marketing goal, some sort of gateway is necessary where you collect fan data. That data will help you be able to build a relationship with them in the future.
I already have a way for people to get a free song download when they subscribe to my homepage in place, but I am not at present getting any traction from my Soundcloud page. Before the album drop I am going to go pro and remodel it and I am looking for ways to catch fans emails as they listen to the new releases on Spotify and SoundCloud. Here is the way:
FollowGate.com
This is a tool made by musicians for increasing your fanbase which is exactly where I am right now. In the free option you can create a simple link from your SoundCloud account so people can sign up and follow you to get a song or an album download for free. You get basic stats. Sign up for this option is free forever.
Their pro service is much wider in scope: you get to create an follow for download link
- follow on SoundCloud for download
- follow on Spotify for download
- email for download
- advanced stats
- the ability to change the title of each download link.
Btw, FollowGate has a great blog with a bunch of tips for us indies check especially out the blog post "Get more SoundCloud Plays With These Six Simple techniques: www.followgate.com/blog/get-soundcloud-plays
Alternatives to FollowGate
But I found something free: soundcloudfollowers.org . It was free but not secure and the upload time was embarrassing! You get worried when it never ends. Are they downloading personal info, passwords? I stopped it. Here we need a free alternative that works....
Linktree Sucks
I "Had" a linktree link added to all my social media and then they kicked me off their service without explaining why in early 2021!
a linktree/direct.me or other similar gateway leads people from Instagram, ReverbNation, Facebook and Twitter to a list of pages, (one of which can be an email subscription or download button). But I don't seem to get all that many taking the bait. (I now use direct.me) The song I offered, Shine, Shine, Shine is a layered live performance where I sing, and play multiple instruments. Its a happy song but not representative of my commercial stuff. But it is fun.
I stopped giving a free song to my subscribers when the EU changed the rules and expects us musicians to pay tax for every song we give away fro free!
Linktree didn't help me get email subscriber or followers on SoundCloud and it didn't automatically help me get followers on Spotify. So I began to look for a way to grow my email base and up my followers on SoundCloud.
In order to grow my fanbase before the album drop I need:
1. to buy SoundCloud pro: 99 USD/year (600 SEK)
2. Create a follow gate on SoundCloud to test the follow gate
3 Consider getting a follow gate pro account to build up a fanbase before the drop. That is if Show Co doesn't cover it for cheaper. That is something I am looking into before I dive into paying $10 a month for a FollowGate link.
So, what does Show co offer and what are the alternatives to FollowGate?
I am going to opt in for the free FollowGate and trial run it hoping that I can get a Black Friday deal.
So, I signed up and tried to create a link and it didn't work. I sent an email where i asked them why SoundCloud din't let me
Update: Now 10 of the 12 songs are ready for mastering and more than half the book is completed. I am switching over to promo mode as I finish remixing the last two songs.
Update March 1st, 2022
I dropped SoundCloud Pro and went to Landr. See volume 4.
YOU ARE READING
An Indie Musician's Diary Vol 2
Non-FictionIt's very complex, difficult, expensive, interesting and fun to be an independent music producer. Volume three covers my attempts to: make acoustic improvements to the studio; cut down my production times; learn the art of mastering in-house ad muc...
