Music
Link in bio for musicians: what to put there, and what to leave out
You get one link. Here is how to make it do the most work, without turning it into a cluttered menu nobody reads.
Instagram gives you one link. TikTok gives you one link (once you qualify). Twitter gives you one. Everyone else who wants your listeners' attention is fighting for the same slot, and the temptation is to cram everything in — the album, the merch, the tour, the Patreon, the newsletter, the podcast you were on once.
Resist that. Here is what actually works for musicians, from watching what people tap.
The link should answer "what are you doing right now?"
Someone lands on your profile, likes the vibe, taps the link. What they want is the thing you are currently pushing. Usually that is the latest release. Sometimes it is a tour. Occasionally it is a pre-save.
So the bio link should go straight to that thing, or to a very short page where that thing is the first and biggest item. If your latest single is at the bottom of a list of eleven links, most people never see it.
The latest release should be a smart link, not a platform link
This is the mistake that costs the most. You put the Spotify URL in the bio because you use Spotify. Everyone on Apple Music, YouTube Music, JioSaavn or Deezer taps it, sees a Spotify sign-in wall, and leaves. They wanted to hear the song. You made them install an app first.
A music smart link is one URL that shows every platform and lets the listener pick theirs. It is the single biggest improvement you can make to a bio link, and it is free. We wrote up how smart links work and what to look for if you want the detail.
A reasonable bio setup
If you only put one thing there, make it the smart link for your latest release. Done. Update it each release.
If you want a small landing page instead, keep it to three or four items, in this order:
- Latest release — smart link, with the artwork visible.
- Listen everywhere — your artist profile on the main platforms, or a smart link to your most-streamed track.
- One current thing — tour dates, merch, or the pre-save for the next single. Not all three.
- Contact / booking — a WhatsApp link if you take bookings that way, or an email. Musicians who take gigs directly get more inquiries from a WhatsApp link with a pre-filled "Hi, I want to book…" message than from an email address, because tapping is easier than typing.
Everything else — the merch that is not selling, the podcast appearance, the old EP — cut it. You can add it back for a week when it becomes the current thing.
Things worth doing
Change the link when you release. Obvious, often skipped. Put it in your release-day checklist next to "post the artwork".
Use the same link everywhere. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube description, the pinned post. One URL. If you use a link tool, you can change what it points to without touching any of those places.
Look at what people tap. If you use a link that tracks clicks, you will find out which platform your listeners actually use, and which country they are in. Artists are routinely surprised — a band that assumed they were "a Spotify act" learns half their taps go to YouTube Music, and it changes where they post.
Match the message to the place. A story swipe-up on release day can go straight to the smart link. The permanent bio link can go to the small landing page. They do not have to be the same.
Things not worth doing
A dozen links. Every extra link makes each one less likely to be tapped. Ruthlessly short.
Linking your Linktree to a page that links to another page. Every extra tap loses people. Get them to the song in one, at most two.
Changing tools every release. Old posts still point at old links. Pick one and stay.
Setting it up
Search your song, get the smart link, paste it in the bio. That is the free version and it takes a minute — start here. If you want to see who is tapping and from where, that is a small analytics add-on on top of the same link.