Guides you can read between bounces.

Short, numbered, skimmable. Get your first gate live, keep consent clean, and put the link where it earns. No prose walls.

Start here5 min read

Get your first gate live

From an empty dashboard to a shareable link. Email-only — no platform connections needed to ship.

Upload the reward. Drop in the file fans get for clearing the gate — a full track, a stem pack, a DJ edit, whatever you are giving away.
The download is served as a short-lived signed link, so the file itself never sits behind a guessable URL.
Add the email step. It is the floor and it works on its own — a fan enters their email and confirms it (double opt-in) before they ever land in your CRM.
Stack any platform steps you want. Spotify, YouTube, Discord, SoundCloud — each one is optional and toggleable. Skip them all and the gate still works.
Set the combination rule. Require all steps, any one of them, or a custom mix. Keep it light if you want conversions; stack it if the reward is worth it.
Preview on mobile, then share the link. Post it anywhere — the gate is a Server-Component-fast page that loads in a couple of seconds on phone data.
Most of your traffic is on a phone in a DM or a story. Always sanity-check the preview before you post.

Get reach4 min read

The gate is only as good as where you put it. A few plays that work for independent acts in the scene.

Lead with the reward, not the gate. Post the dub or the edit people actually want, then the link to get it. The gate is the cost of entry, not the pitch.
Pin it everywhere it fits. Story highlight, link-in-bio, the comment under your latest upload. The link should never be more than one tap away.
Run one reward at a time. A single, clear free download converts better than a wall of options. Save the rest for the next reup.
Tag fans as they come in. Group by release or city in the CRM, then target the right segment for the next gig or drop instead of blasting everyone.
Re-up to the segment, not the world. When the next track lands, email the fans who cleared the last gate first — they already dig your stuff.
Your list is the one channel no platform can switch off. Use it.

You have the steps. The first one is a five-minute job and the email you capture is yours from day one.