Here's what most musicians' link-in-bio looks like: a list of streaming platform logos. Spotify. Apple Music. YouTube. Amazon. Tidal. Maybe a merch link at the bottom.
Someone taps your link, sees six logos, picks one, and leaves. If they listen, you get a fraction of a penny and a number on a dashboard. You don't get their name. You don't get their email. You have no way to contact them again. The platform owns the relationship, not you.
This is the fundamental problem with the way most artists use their link-in-bio. It's a directory that sends people away—when it should be making them stay.
The department store problem
Using Linktree as a musician is like walking into a department store, asking for the music section, and being given directions to other department stores.
You put your link in your Instagram bio. A fan clicks it. They land on a page that essentially says “go somewhere else to listen.” Every click that sends someone to Spotify or Apple Music is a click that hands your fan over to someone else's algorithm. That fan might listen to your song, or they might get pulled into a playlist and never come back.
The link-in-bio should be the destination, not a redirect. Someone clicks, they can actually listen right there, and then streaming links are just an option if they want to add you to a playlist.
What a “good” link-in-bio actually captures
If you think about what actually helps you as an artist long-term, a good link-in-bio should prioritize things that capture something:
- An email signup. This is the single most valuable thing a fan can give you. An email address means you can reach them again without paying for ads or hoping an algorithm shows them your post. No platform can take that away from you.
- An SMS/phone number. Even more direct than email. Open rates on text messages are estimated at around 98%, compared to roughly 20% for email. When you're announcing a show or a release, a text gets seen.
- A Bandcamp purchase. When someone buys on Bandcamp, you get their email. That's a real contact, not a stream count.
- A merch store visit. Someone buying a shirt gives you their shipping address and email. That's a real customer.
- A direct listen. If someone plays your music on your page, you know they're engaged. You can see what they listened to, how long they stayed, and where they came from.
Streaming links are fine to include. But they shouldn't be the main event. A Spotify stream gives you roughly $0.003 and no contact info. An email subscriber gives you a fan you can reach for life.
Ownership is the whole point
This comes down to a simple question: can you contact that person again?
If someone follows you on Instagram, Meta decides whether they see your posts. If someone saves your song on Spotify, the algorithm decides whether to resurface it. If someone subscribes to your YouTube channel, Google decides what gets recommended. You're renting access to your own fans.
But if someone gives you their email address, that's yours. No middleman. No algorithm. No platform fee. When you have a new release, a show announcement, or a vinyl drop, you hit send and it arrives. That's what ownership means.
This isn't a new idea. Musicians have been building mailing lists since long before streaming existed. What is new is that most artists have been trained to think of streaming numbers as the goal, when they should be thinking about contact info as the goal. Streams are a byproduct. The relationship is the product.
Why we built Gatefolded this way
Talking about this with other artists is actually what started Gatefolded. The link-in-bio shouldn't be a list of logos pointing elsewhere. It should be the place where fans actually experience your music.
With Gatefolded, someone follows your link and can play your music immediately. They see lyrics, credits, liner notes, links to streaming and socials, and can tip you directly. No login required, no bouncing around. They hear your music and they're there—on your page, in your world.
And now, you can also collect their email and phone number right there. It's a simple, optional form—not a popup, not a gate. Just a line that says “Get updates from [your name]” with a field for their email. They sign up if they want. They listen either way. You get a direct contact and they get to hear your music. Everyone wins.
How to set it up
If you're already on Gatefolded, here's how to start collecting emails from your pages:
The quick way: On any album's settings page, flip the Collect Emails toggle to ON. Done—a signup form appears on that album's share page.
For more control: Go to your artist dashboard, expand “Public Artist Page,” and scroll to Email / SMS Collection. From there you can enable phone number collection, write a custom call-to-action (or keep the default “Get updates from [your name]”), and choose where the form appears: before listening, after listening, or as a subtle banner. Each album can override the artist default independently.
Subscribers show up in a new “Subscribers” section on your dashboard. You can see who signed up, when, and from which page. Export the list as CSV whenever you want to import it into Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Buttondown, or whatever you use for email.
A privacy note
Every collection form includes the note “We'll never share your info.” We mean it. Subscriber data is only accessible to the artist who collected it. Gatefolded never contacts your subscribers, never shares the data, and never uses it for anything. When you delete your artist, subscriber data is permanently removed.
Your fans trust you with their email. That trust is the foundation of the relationship. We're not going to mess with it.
The bottom line
Every link in your bio should earn its spot. If a link sends someone away and all you get back is a fraction of a penny and an anonymous stream count, that link isn't working hard enough for you.
The best link-in-bio for a musician is one that does three things: lets people listen, captures a way to reach them again, and keeps them on your page. Streaming links are a nice add-on. But the email signup is the headliner.
Try Gatefolded free and start building a real relationship with the people who care about your music.