What Happens When You Pre-Save Releases from Artists Signed to Major Labels?

This is something you’ve probably paid little attention to while using streaming platforms - especially when pre-saving a soon-to-be-released record/project.

While I’m certain that we’re privy to cases where an artist would ask fans/listeners to pre-save or pre-add (means same - depending on which platform) a forthcoming release before it drops, we’re most likely not privy to what this sometimes costs us.

The idea of Pre-saving is rather a fantastic one as it helps keep people in the loop about a forthcoming release. When you pre-add/save a release, you can go about your business while your library is automatically updated once its out. However, what we might not know is that pre-saving gives [major] labels/distributors (read about major distributors here) an amount of data about your listening habits on the app - especially Spotify. You know, like RSVPing.

Before we go in, here's a recording of a meeting between an artist and his label (Columbia - Sony). He’d informed his label about releasing his song and his label give a condition that he gets 150,000 pre-saves for the song before they can ‘talk’. Crazy, I know.

For the listeners, while the catch for pre-saves might be “convenience” - rightly as it goes straight to your library, the catch for labels is “your data; access to significant, ongoing information about the music tastes of fans, which could be used to shape future signings, personalize marketing and eye emerging trends.”

A disclaimer is usually issued before you pre-save but we’re kind of guilty of not always reading Ts & Cs through. I remember coming across something something Universal Music while trying to pre-save Tiwa Savage’s Water & Garri EP. I can’t remember what the actual details were as I hurriedly clicked through each step but I do recall it was something about granting certain permissions - some of which includes agreeing to being updated about other UMG releases (memory is a blur right now). I don’t have a screenshot presently but will look out for subsequent ‘pre-save’ instances by artists signed to major labels.

The data in question could range from your listening history like “recently played content, saved content in your music library, your top artists, playlists you’ve made or followed - to personal info like your name, birthday, email, subscription type, follower count and other info linked to your Spotify account.” They could purportedly control certain things like “following artists on your behalf,  your private playlist, use your email address to sign up for a mailing list etc.” I can’t confirm this particularly.

In 2017, to pre-save a Little Mix single, you’ll be asked to give Sony permissions that includes “the continuous ability to view your entire library, the music you’re playing & the device you’re playing it on, your email, who you’re following etc.” All listeners had to do is click “add” to pre-save the forthcoming release and all these were given away.

In 2019, when you pre-save “Racks” by HER & YBN Cordae,  Sony has the right to see your email, playlists, who you follow, your top tracks, and what you’ve played recently. They can also manage who you follow on Spotify, create playlists, add/remove items from your library etc.

In 2019, if you were going to pre-save Chris Brown’s No Guidance, Sony will ask for permission to upload images to personalize your profile or playlist cover and manage who you follow on Spotify.

In 2019, for Noel Gallager’s Black Star EP, Warner asked for full control over private playlists and many other instances like these.

There is why many of these requests are hidden in submenus that would require you to click through and review each request. Some labels have been called out for requesting an excessive amount of access to listener info - unbeknownst to many of them. Sony, for instance, have been called “biggest abuser of permissions” as they’re found seeking about 16 permissions that it probably doesn’t need while UMG & Warner have sought about 10 of these additional permissions.

Basically, pre-saving record could be giving the label a carte blanche on your data.

PS: This however is not the only catch for labels/artists about pre-saves. Pre-saves helps for a big first week chart number when more people sign up. A sizable number of pre-saves can trigger the algorithm and potentially put the release in front of more algorithmic playlists like Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, Release Radar etc. Also, the more pre-save a song gets, the more likely that playlist editors will pick it up.