What Happened to Songwhip? (And Why Your Smart Links Stopped Working)

If you are reading this because your Songwhip links stopped working, you are in the right place. Here is a clear explanation of what happened and how to get your smart links working again.

1. What happened to Songwhip

Songwhip was a free music smart link platform that let artists create one URL routing fans to any streaming platform. It was acquired by Sony Music's distribution arm, The Orchard. Following the acquisition, Songwhip was shut down. All Songwhip links became inactive — when fans click old Songwhip URLs, they either get an error page or are redirected without reaching your music. Songwhip pre-save campaigns for future releases also stopped working.

2. Why Songwhip shut down

Songwhip had no revenue model. It was entirely free with no paid plans, no premium features, and no way to monetise its user base. This meant its only value was as an acquisition target — which is exactly what happened. Once acquired, Sony/The Orchard had no incentive to maintain a standalone free product that competed with their other interests. The shutdown was predictable in retrospect: a free tool with no business model is eventually either acquired or shut down.

3. How to find all your old Songwhip links

Your Songwhip links lived at urls like songwhip.com/your-release or song.link/your-release. Check: your Instagram bio (replace immediately), your TikTok bio, your Twitter/X bio, your email list archives (search 'songwhip' in your sent emails), and any press articles or blog posts that mentioned your music. Press articles are harder to update — reach out to editors to ask them to update links if the article is still getting traffic.

4. How to recreate your Songwhip smart links on Lynkify

Sign up for a free Lynkify account at lynkify.in. Go to Release Links and click Create New. Paste the Spotify or Apple Music URL for your release — Lynkify imports your track title, artwork, and streaming platform links automatically. Add any platforms not auto-detected. Enable fan email capture (a feature Songwhip never had). Click Publish and copy your new URL. Replace your old Songwhip link everywhere it appears. This takes under 3 minutes per release.

5. Why Lynkify will not shut down like Songwhip did

Lynkify has a real business model: a free plan, an Artist plan at $15/month, and a Label plan at $49/month. Paid plans fund development, infrastructure, and support. Lynkify is not dependent on eventual acquisition or a pivot to survive. It is a paid SaaS product — the kind of business model that sustains long-term, reliable service. That distinction matters when you are embedding smart links in press articles and social bios that you want to work for years.