Release day: one link that opens the track.
One link to the new track, episode or drop, shared everywhere. Fans land on the track, even after installing, and you see which channel drove the plays.
- Who runs it
- Marketers, paid ads
- Time to set up
- Minutes, after the SDK
- Plan
- Free
One link per channel, all to the track.
Make one link to the track, with a copy per channel tagged with where it's posted: the artist's story, fan accounts, the mailing list.
- The channel tag says which surface drove each play.
- Ready before the drop, live the second it's out.
The track, ready to play.
With the app, the link opens on the track. Without it, the store, then the same track after install. On release day, the home screen is where momentum goes to die.
- Works on iPhone and Android.
- The play button is the first thing they see.
Plays per channel, over three days.
First plays from the link, from the play event your app sends, split by channel. Measure over 72 hours: new users who install on release night often play on day two.
- Taps, installs and first plays per channel.
- Where to push on the next release.
One-time setup, then it's all yours.
Your developer adds the LinkTrail SDK once and opens the track from the link's path. After that, every release is just new links.
LinkTrail.onLink(link => {
// link.customData = { artist: "kestrel", ch: "artist-ig" }
openTrack(link.path);
});The full walkthrough: Release day: an artist drop that opens straight to the track
Release day is a spike that doesn't come back. Fans tap a link from a story, a fan account, a playlist post — and if they don't have the app, the worst outcome is landing on a generic install screen while the moment passes.
What problem does this solve?
A new single drops across an artist's socials and partner accounts. Tapping the link should open the track in the app, and for new users, install and then open the track — crediting which surface drove the listen.
How do you set the links up?
One smart link to the track, distributed everywhere, with the source surface tagged so you can see which channels actually convert to streams.
{
"deepLinkPath": "/track/midnight-signal",
"customData": { "artist": "kestrel", "ch": "fan-account-ig" }
}Why does release day need different link handling?
Because the traffic arrives in hours rather than weeks, and almost none of it is yours. A drop is amplified by fan accounts, playlist curators, the artist's own socials, and partner posts — dozens of surfaces you don't control, all sharing at once, all in apps with in-app browsers that handle links inconsistently.
That combination breaks the usual assumptions. You can't fix a bad link after the fact because the window has closed, you can't ask thirty accounts to update what they posted, and a meaningful share of the audience is meeting your app for the first time. One link that routes correctly everywhere and survives an install is the only version of this that works.
How do you credit the surface that drove the stream?
Tag the channel on the link rather than minting a different link per surface. Same destination, same payload, a different channel parameter — so the artist's team gets a per-surface breakdown without anyone having to manage a spreadsheet of URLs on release morning.
| Surface | Channel tag | What it usually tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Artist's own story | artist-ig-story | Baseline — the existing fanbase |
| Fan accounts | fan-account-ig | Reach beyond the fanbase; often the highest new-install share |
| Playlist / curator post | curator-post | Intent-heavy; smaller volume, better stream-through |
| Partner or label push | label-push | Volume; quality varies a lot by partner |
| Printed or venue QR | venue-qr | Small but almost entirely new users |
The breakdown is worth more than the total. A surface that drove 10,000 taps and few first streams told you something different from one that drove 800 taps and mostly streams — and on the next drop, that's where the push goes.
Which metric should you watch?
First-stream rate from the link — the share of taps (and deferred installs) that resulted in actually playing the track, broken out by source surface. It tells the artist's team where to spend the next release-day push.
Measure it over 72 hours rather than on the day. New users who install on release night frequently stream on day two, and a same-day-only cut systematically under-credits exactly the surfaces that are bringing you new listeners rather than existing ones.
“On release day, the homepage is where momentum goes to die.”
Which teams own an artist's release-day drop?
- Growth marketers
- Performance & paid
Which LinkTrail features does an artist's release-day drop need?
- Deferred deep linking
- Smart routing
- Per-link channel tagging
- Match audit log (deterministic vs probabilistic)
Release day questions.
Why does release day need different link handling?
Traffic arrives in hours, mostly from surfaces you don't control — fan accounts, curators, partner posts — often inside in-app browsers. You can't fix a posted link after the window closes, so one link that routes correctly everywhere and survives an install is the only version that works.
How do you credit the surface that drove a stream?
Use one link with a different channel tag per surface instead of a separate link each. The destination and payload stay the same, and the artist's team gets a per-surface breakdown without a spreadsheet of URLs.
Which metric should an artist's team watch on release day?
First-stream rate from the link, by source surface, measured over 72 hours rather than on the day — new users who install on release night often stream on day two.
If you're doing this, you'll probably want these.
Creator campaigns
One link per creator. Their followers land on the offer they talked about, even after installing, and you see new users per creator.
Short links for TV, radio and podcasts
A link people can remember and type. Branded, short, and counted per show or spot.
Subscription funnel
A shared article opens the same story in the app after install, and the subscription is credited to the share.
Make your release link.
Free for your first 5,000 users. No card, no sales call.