It’s incredibly simple to create album pre-orders on Bandcamp. You can give fans one or more tracks immediately when they pre-order, and then when you release the record, we’ll automatically email those fans a link to download the full album and we’ll report your pre-sales to SoundScan, ARIA Charts, and OfficialCharts.
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Upload your album
Get the album as close to its release-ready state as possible: create all its tracks, upload all the audio (or as much of it as you have), add lyrics and liner notes, etc. Use the Save Draft button to save your changes without publishing if you don’t have everything ready yet.
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Check the pre-order box
Go into the album editor and check “this is a digital pre-order”:
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Choose which tracks to include
Choose which tracks you want to give fans immediately when they pre-order by clicking the titles in the left-hand column, then checking this box on the right:
The other tracks will be shown in the track list, but only the pre-order tracks will stream and download. Because most fans want to preview before they buy, they're more likely to purchase a pre-order with at least one track available for streaming and downloading.
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Publish the album
Finally, if your album is still in a draft state, click Publish and you’ll be ready to start taking pre-orders
Now just sit back and watch the pre-orders roll in. But don’t forget to…
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Release the album
When you’re ready to release the pre-order, return to the album editor, choose release pre-order now and click the Update button:
Now all your fans who pre-ordered will receive an email with a link to download the full album, we’ll report your pre-sales to the respective music charts, and fans who buy the record from here on out will receive all its tracks in their download.
Some things you may be wondering
How do pre-orders work with physical packages?
If you want to include a digital pre-order with a music merch item (such as the vinyl or CD version of the album), then just follow the instructions as above, and in the package editor, choose the corresponding album from the “What album is it?” dropdown. We’ll then give fans an instant download of the pre-sale tracks with their physical purchase, and email them a link to download the full album whenever you release it.
You can also set up pre-orders for physical versions of albums that are already out on digital. Just set the package’s release date to whatever future date you like, and that’s that. At the moment, it's not possible to include a digital pre-order with a non-music merch item.
Can I set up a pre-order for single or standalone tracks?
It’s not possible to set up pre-orders for standalone tracks, only albums. However, you can create an album with a single track uploaded to that album as a pre-order album. Here’s more on how to upload tracks and albums. If you’ve already set up your single track, you can add that track into an album. Just follow the steps here.
Can I set my pre-order to automatically release at a certain time so that I can just go to sleep?
What, and miss all the action? This is your big album release! If you’re not up and refreshing Twitter non-stop and talking to fans and high-fiving your bandmates we respectfully submit that you’re doing it wrong. To unleash your release, see here.
Can I send out track/album codes for my album during the pre-order?
Yes! Track/album codes redeemed for a pre-order give the entire album, not just the teaser tracks. This is great if you’d like to share early copies with superfans or reviewers. For more information about track/album codes, check this out.
Will my fans be notified when I release my pre-order?
Yep! We’ll notify your mailing list when the album is available in full. We also send an updated download link to any fans who bought the album during the pre-order period.
Please back up to the beginning. Why would I want to do a pre-order?
If your music career is just getting started, you’re almost certainly better off avoiding pre-orders and instead getting your full album out, letting people hear it, and building up your fanbase. It’s conceivable that someone who has never heard of you might pre-order your record on the strength of a few teaser tracks, but it’s pretty unlikely.
If you’re a more established artist, however, setting up a release as a pre-order can have a few benefits. First, it gives your biggest fans an easy way to make sure they get your record the moment it comes out. Second, it gives you a way to build up excitement and demand for a release, beyond just talking about it. And finally, it can increase the likelihood of your album placing on official weekly music charts, since all your pre-orders are reported to the respective organizations as if 100% of the purchases were made the week you release the record. We were as surprised as anybody to learn that that’s how the game is played, but hey, we’re here to help you play it.