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Linkfire Alternatives

Linkfire provides “intelligent links” that help route fans to the music. These smart links are designed to word globally sending fans to country-specific iTunes storefronts.  There are a number of link shortening alternative work consider that are are significantly less expensive (or free), these include:

Flyt

Flyt is a link shortener designed with the intention of tracking sales and helping music labels, book publisher, and other providers make money off of links. his works by giving the link creator a cut of the money made when a product is sold through that link. This feature is globalized, taking the user to the country-specific storefront. Another significant feature is API support which allows partners such as Metablocks to provide tight integration with platforms and product lines.

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Link Shorteners for the Music Industry

Linkfire
Domains: lnk.to
Positioning: Smart links for music marketing
Markets: Music (Only)
Background:
Launched out of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2013, and changed focus to the music industry in 2014.
Features: Targeting, Interstitial, Affiliation, Translation, Mobile Deep Linking, and Editing.
Clients: Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainament (SME)- International, Warner Music Group (WMG)
Cost: Approx 10-12K based on news sources

SmartURL
Domains: smarturl.it, hyperurl.co
Positioning: Globally redirect, track and manage all of your URLs
Markets: Music, Other
Background:
Launched in late 2011 by Gupta Media, based in Boston, MA.
Features: Targeting, Interstitial, Affiliation, Translation, Retargeting, and Editing.
Clients: Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainament, Warner Music Group (WMG)
Cost: Limited free version, enterprise approx $1,000 / month. 

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Metablocks Widgets New Features & Fixes Update (2017-04-17)

New features and bug fixes in today’s build:

  • Zapier integration ready for beta testing. Zapier API keys moved to API page. Currently supported Zapier triggers include: Create Widget, Publish Widget. Currently supported Zapier actions include: Optimize Widget. Let us know if you would like to see any additional triggers or actions.
  • Metablocks Widgets API (see Account » API page) now available for limited beta testing.
  • Enhancements made to Smarturl and Linkfire import feature.
  • Favorite Widgets page and feature removed for lack of user interest. Will be revisited in the future.
  • Widget now supports the notion of “Published” that makes it visible to search engines and our advertising channels.
  • Improvements in the search user interface (see more…)
  • Added support for Two-Factor Authentication per some clients request.
  • Widget drag and drop in beta for all browsers (was previously available to Chrome and Safari users).

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Metablocks Widgets New Features & Fixes Update (2017-04-15)

New features and bug fixes in today’s build:

  • Tidal Player added based on some beta user requests (see examples...)
  • Dynamic background examples can now be found here: http://www.2lin.cc/gallery/backgrounds
  • Promotions tab added to allow users to promote their widgets via advertising and other marketing channels (as they become available)
  • Gallery Feed now available in JSON format (see example…)
  • Full-service clients (T1 or T2) can now forward their widget requests to requests@null2lin.cc and you will be alerted when the widget has been added to your account
  • Two new reports have been added, these include the world map and Facebook/Twitter sharing stats (see details…)
  • Zapier integration added and in beta. If you are a Zapier or IFTTT user and would like to beta test widget marketing automation, please contact us.

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Two New Reports for your Music Widgets

We recently added two new modules in our statistics reporting page for our music widgets. In case you didn’t notice them, you’ll find them towards the button of the page.

World Map
This provides a global view of where your views and clicks of your retail landing pages and widgets are coming from.

Sharing Stats
One of our most popular modules is Facebook/Twitter sharing that allows end-users to share your widget or retail landing page with friends on social media.  If you have this module as part of your widget, this reports will show the count and percentage breakdown of sharing activity on Facebook and Twitter.

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Metablocks Widgets New Features & Fixes Update (2017-04-12)

New features and bug fixes in today’s build:

  • Widget search added and implemented to provide added SEO benefits (See example…)
  • Common searches now integrated into platform sitemap
  • Batch commands including Shorten all URLs, Delete All URLs and Optimize All added on the widgets page and can now be applied to all links associated with a widget.
  • Bugs fixed in the import links feature, plus other improvements made to provide better support for websites in general.
  • Artists in the Metablocks Artist DB (MAD) automatically recognized and integration hooks are automatically added to the management console.
  • Minor bug fix that sometimes caused beta invites to not work properly has been fixed.
  • Phase I of Google AdWords testing has begun and over 100 AdWords campaigns have been placed and being are compared to similar buys on competitors offerings (Linkfire, Toneden, i.e.). Beta testers will be informed if their widgets are in this control group.
  • Phase II of SEO testing as begun, Beta testers who have signed up for the Widget Platform SEO Case Study will be able to access it from their dashboards.
  • Support area now supports external links for help sources.
  • Additional Pre-save to Spotify (See approaches) options added.

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Metablocks Widgets New Features & Fixes Update (2017-04-11)

New features and bug fixes in today’s build:

  • Introduced “The Optimizer” feature that sorts module links based on traffic or revenue.
  • Improved SEO support for widgets including a dynamic sitemap for the platform and other meta tag enhancements.
  • Flyt.it supported (via OAuth) completed and Flyt.it tab added
  • Added “Drag and Drop” support for changing the order of modules for Chrome and Safari users.
  • Added support for deep linking with the management console
  • Added RSS support for widget galleries, accounts, plus custom RSS feed for groups of modules (see more…)
  • Added new dynamic backgrounds include Glitch, Mesh (Dark and Light), Starscape (see more…)
  • Spotify URI support added in the management console for links and Spotify embeds.
  • Pre-save to Spotify module integrated with the Pre-Save platform.
  • Billing and referral program pages added and available for testing.
  • Import feature for Smarturl, Linkfire and Tonden pages updated.
  • Amazon S3 Secure download module added (users can download a secure file in exchange for their email)
  • Photo slideshow/gallery module and support added (see example…)
  • Administrators can now upload photos directly to their photo galleries and moderate them.
  • Minor CSS changes to improved mobile support for both widget and photo galleries.
  • Bit.ly OAuth support added.
  • Embed code (with and without background) for widgets now available from widgets page.

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RSS Feed Support

We have recently introduced RSS Feed support for accounts and gallery on our platform. This means you can syndicate your widgets using RSS and access them using an RSS reader. There are a lost other applications for RSS as well. Here are some examples:

  • End-users can subscribe to your widget updates via RSS
    • Fans can get alerts every time a new widget is added
    Marketing automation and alerts using IFTTT or Zapier
    • You can send an email or perform any other IFTTT or Zapier action when a new widget is added to your gallery or account

    You can find the RSS Feed to your Music or Book Widgets in one of several places.

    Gallery Page
    If you are the administrator of a Gallery, you’ll be able to get your RSS Feed directly from your Gallery page (example: Features ) by clicking on the actions icon (wrench)  and selecting RSS Feed.

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