A Spotify share link is 22 random characters after open.spotify.com/track/, followed by a tracking parameter nobody wants. It cannot be read out on a podcast, it wraps onto two lines on a flyer, and inside Instagram it opens a logged-out web player where following you or saving the song takes three taps and a sign-in. Musicians, podcasters and playlist curators share these links more than anyone, and they lose listeners at exactly that moment.
What a short link changes
A short link such as digily.link/newsingle or short.bi/ep40 redirects to the Spotify page. On Digily Link it also counts every tap with the referrer, country, city and device, and the destination can be edited later, so the link you printed on release day can point at the pre-save page this week and at the track next week. You choose the slug on every plan, from 15 branded domains, or use your own domain on the Starter and Pro plans. The short links page lists the rest.
Opening the Spotify app rather than the web player
The setting that matters is called "auto open app on mobile", and it is included on the free plan. When a listener taps the short link on a phone with Spotify installed, Digily Link sends them into the app on the right track, album, playlist, podcast episode or artist page, signed in and ready to follow. On a phone without the app, or on a desktop, the ordinary Spotify web page loads instead. Nothing changes for the listener except that the song plays where they already live. If you want to know what is happening underneath, the guide to deep linking explains it.
Set it up
- In Spotify, open the track, album, playlist, episode or artist page, tap the three dots, then Share and Copy link.
- Optional but tidy. Paste the address into the URL parser and remove the si parameter, which is only Spotify's own share tracking. The link works without it.
- In the Digily Link dashboard, create a short link and paste the address as the destination. Registration is free and the free plan includes 50 short links.
- Choose a domain and a slug you can say on air, such as /newsingle or /ep40.
- Switch on "auto open app on mobile" and save.
- Test from inside Instagram and TikTok on an iPhone and an Android phone. The Spotify app should open on the right page.
Ideas for artists, podcasters and curators
- Release day. Create the short link a week early and point it at the pre-save page. On release day change the destination to the track. Every poster, story and bio button you already shared now opens the song.
- Bio link page. Add the Spotify block to your bio link page so the player sits on the page, and put the short link on a button above it for people who want the app. The Spotify block is available on the free plan.
- Merch, vinyl sleeves and gig posters. Turn the short link into a QR code with your artwork colours. The QR code generator exports SVG for print, and because the code points at the short link, it keeps working when the destination changes.
- One link per place. The same track behind /ig, /tt and /yt costs nothing and tells you which platform actually sends listeners.
- Regional releases. If a track is only live in some countries, targeting rules on the short link can send other visitors to a different page. See advanced link redirection.
- Podcasts. Keep one short link per episode and one evergreen link for the show. Say the evergreen one on air.
Reading the statistics
Every tap is recorded without a tracking cookie on the listener's phone. The referrer report shows whether Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or a newsletter brought the tap. The country and city reports tell you where your listeners are, which is useful long before you plan a tour. The device report shows how many arrived on a desktop, where the app cannot open and the web player is what they saw. Statistics are kept for a month on the free plan and longer on the paid plans, and can be exported.
If you printed the link somewhere, scan the code with the QR code reader before the print run goes out, and paste the short link into the URL redirect checker to see the redirect it produces.
Sharing in stories and captions
An Instagram story link sticker accepts any address, so use the short link rather than the Spotify one; it is what the viewer sees on the sticker. In a TikTok caption nothing is clickable, so say the slug out loud and pin it in a comment. On YouTube put the short link in the description and in a pinned comment, where it is clickable and counted separately if you give the two places different slugs.
Labels, managers and several artists
If you look after more than one artist, keep each artist's links in their own project on the Starter or Pro plan, with a slug prefix that names the act, for example /lowtides-single and /lowtides-tour. Each artist gets their own bio link page on a domain that suits them, digily.bio for the profile and short.bi for the links in stories. Statistics can be exported per link, which is what a label wants at the end of a campaign, and a team member can be given access to update destinations on release day without sharing the account password.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work for albums, playlists, podcasts and artist pages?
Yes. Any public open.spotify.com address can be the destination, and the app opens on the matching screen.
What about listeners who use Apple Music?
Apple Music links are also recognised by app linking, so make a second short link for the same release and put both buttons on your bio page. The statistics will tell you the split.
Will Spotify count the stream?
The music plays in the Spotify app or the Spotify web player either way, so the stream is counted by Spotify as normal. The difference is that app listeners are signed in, which is what makes following and saving easy.
Can I use my own domain?
On the Starter and Pro plans you can connect a domain or subdomain, so the link reads listen.yourband.co.uk/newsingle. The custom domain documentation covers the DNS records.
Can I change the destination after sharing?
Yes, at any time. The short link and any QR code made from it carry on working and start pointing at the new destination immediately.
Final checks
- The destination is the share link of a specific track, album, playlist, episode or artist page.
- "Auto open app on mobile" is on.
- The slug is short and easy to say on air.
- You tested from inside Instagram or TikTok on both iOS and Android.
- Each platform you share on has its own short link.
