Linkfire acquired smartURL. What now?
smartURL and Linkfire have joined forces. What does that mean for the smart linking market and for smartURL and Linkfire customers?
In response to the fragmented world of digital marketing, smartURL was the first to provide a smart link solution for the global music industry. The platform has been at the forefront of digital music marketing for the last decade.
Back in 2021, smartURL and Linkfire found significant opportunities in integrating rather than competing. Building upon smartURL’s solid foundation, Linkfire’s unparalleled features and data partnerships, we aim to elevate the smart linking industry to the next level.
Why Linkfire?
Trusted by major labels and over 80,000 artists, Linkfire is the music industry’s leading smart link platform. We give artists and their teams the intuitive design tools, effortless automations, and unparalleled insights they need to grow their careers, while seamlessly connecting billions of fans to their favorite music.
What customers love about Linkfire
At the core of Linkfire’s offering lies the mission of simplifying music marketing for artists, creators, and their teams.
On the Linkfire platform, you’ll find everything you need to promote your content online. You’ll be able to create branded, trackable smart links and beautiful landing pages in just a few clicks—no coding or design skills needed.
Besides, Linkfire gives you direct access to transparent data and actionable insights that will help you make smarter marketing decisions. Plus, we’re the only smart link platform with exclusive streaming data partnerships that give you a more complete picture of the fan journey. You;ll find streaming data for Apple Music, YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, and many more.
And as you grow in your music career journey, Linkfire is flexible enough to adapt to your changing needs. You can track new channels as you expand your online presence, invite collaborators to your workspace as you bring on new team members, and add more advanced features to your account when the time is right.
What does the acquisition mean for smartURL free users?
SmartURL free users are people with a free smartURL account or people who built smartURLs free of charge.
As a former smartURL free user, you can expect that:
- Your smartURL account will be deprecated by February 28, 2023
- Your most popular links with 6 or more visits in a given month from November 2021 - December 2022 will be migrated and hosted by Linkfire and powered by our design
- Your Linkfire-hosted smartURL pivot pages will be ad-supported, and you may experience changes to the service destinations list
- Your smartURL insights will not carry over, we strongly encourage you to export your data before February 28
- If you don’t have a Linkfire account yet, we encourage you to do that, so you can continue creating new smart links and collect insights.
Still in doubt? Check out the FAQ section below.
What does the acquisition mean for all smartURL paid users?
Gradually all smartURLs paid users (people on a paid subscription or users with access to advanced features) were invited to join Linkfire’s music marketing and analytics platform on a discounted plan. If you haven’t yet joined Linkfire’s marketing platform, we encourage you to do that, so you can continue creating new smart links and collect insights.
Below are some highlights of the change for smartURL paid users :
-
Your smartURL subscription has been terminated and your access to the smartURL platform will come to an end by February 28, 2023
-
Your most popular links with 6 or more visits in a given month from November 2021 - December 2022 will be migrated and hosted by Linkfire and powered by our design
-
All smartURL pivot pages get a facelift, and due to that you might experience some changes to some destinations (DSPs) featured on your landing pages
-
Your smartURL insights will not carry over, we strongly encourage you to export your data before February 28
FAQ
1. When will smartURL close?
Access to the smartURL platform will be terminated by February 28, 2023
2. What will happen to my paid smartURL paid subscription?
SmartURL paid subscriptions were terminated throughout January 2022 to January 2023. All smartURL Pro users have been invited to join Linkfire’s marketing platform, prior to the termination of their smartURL subscription.
If you’ve missed out on the invitation, please reach out to our Support team at help@linkfire.com to claim your Linkfire account and the 50% discount on a Linkfire subscription.
3. What will happen to my smartURLs?
Depending on the type of smartURL link created, the content featured, and the traffic volume in the past 12 months, you can expect the following:
-
- All most visited smartURLs with album or sign release landing pages linking to music destinations will be hosted by Linkfire, and the DSP list might be subject to change.
- All most visited smartURL pivot pages linking to non-music destinations (e.g. books, playlists, ecommerce, games, etc.) will be hosted by Linkfire and will be linking to one destination only—the top destination by number of clicks.
B. For smartURL link shortner (links without a landing page)
-
- All most visited smartURL link shorteners with a music destination will be hosted by Linkfire and will continue to redirect your visitors to any of the automated services Linkfire works with. Country redirects will be supported if applied in SmartURL.
- All most visited smart URL link shorteners with a non-music destination (e.g. books, ecommerce, games etc) will be hosted by Linkfire. Country redirects will be supported if applied in smartURL.
4. What is considered a *most visited smartURL link?
All smartURLs with at least 6 visitors in a given month during November 2021 - December 2022, are considered popular smartURL or active links, and are to be hosted by Linkfire.
All smartURLs with less than 6 visitors in a given month during November 2021 - December 2022 will be redirected to an informative page stating that this content is no longer hosted here.
What will happen to my smartURL insights?Insights will be closed down together with the smartURL platform on February 28, 2023. We strongly encourage you to export all your smartURL data that you might want to keep accessible.
My smartURLs look differently? Why is that?Your smartURLs get a facelift once they become hosted by Linkfire. The changes are in terms of design and DSPs list. If you want to create new smart links, we invite you to sign-up for a Linkfire account.
5. Which DPS can be featured on Linkfire-hosted smartURLs?
By default, Linkfire-powered smartURLs feature the destinations listed below. Nevertheless, upon editing your smartURLs, you can add any other of the over 50 automated DSP and over 200 manual destinations supported by Linkfire.
- Apple Music*
- Amazon Music (Streaming)
- Amazon Cs & Vinyl
- Pandora
- Deezer
- iTunes
- Spotify
- SoundCloud
- Tidal
6. Can I still create new smartURLs after the end of February 28, 2023?
No, the smartURL platform will be closed down and no user will be able to log in and create new smartURLs. If you haven’t already, we advise you to create an account on Linkfire, so you can keep creating smart links and collect insights that inform your marketing.
Can I edit my smartURLs once they are hosted by Linkfire?If you’d like to access or edit some of your smartURLs, please reach out to the Linkfire Support team at help@linkfire.com.
Country redirects will work for both smartURL pivot pages and link shorteners smartURLs.
Device redirects will not be supported.