Glossary
The words around a release, explained
Industry terms and internet speak, each answered in a line, with a real example and how it fits with the rest.
A
Algo Internet speak
"Algo" is short for algorithm, the ranking system that decides what a social app shows people, as in "the algo pushed my reel".
Algorithmic playlist Industry terms
An algorithmic playlist is made automatically for each listener from what they play, like Spotify's Release Radar and Discover Weekly.
Attribution Industry terms
Attribution is working out where a click, sign-up or sale came from, so you know which post, channel or campaign actually worked.
Aulto Industry terms
Aulto is a platform for turning clicks and comments into fans you can reach: smart links, pre-saves, bio pages, fan lists and Reply Drop for Instagram.
Auto-reply Industry terms
An auto-reply is a message sent automatically in response to a DM, comment or keyword, so people get an answer without waiting for someone to type it.
B
C
Call to action Industry terms
A call to action (CTA) is the one specific thing you ask people to do next, like "Pre-save now" or "Comment RECIPE".
Caller tune Industry terms
A caller tune (CRBT, caller ring back tune) is a song people hear instead of the ringing sound when they call someone, set by the person being called.
Carousel post Internet speak
A carousel post is an Instagram post with several photos or videos that people swipe through, up to 20 in one post.
Click-through rate Industry terms
Click-through rate (CTR) is the share of people who clicked a link out of everyone who saw it, written as a percentage.
Close Friends Internet speak
Close Friends is an Instagram list of people you choose; content shared to it is seen only by them and marked with a green badge.
Collab post Internet speak
A collab post is a single Instagram post or reel published by two or more accounts together, shown on each profile with shared likes and comments.
Comment-to-DM Internet speak
Comment-to-DM is when someone comments a keyword on an Instagram post and automatically receives a direct message with a link or reply.
Conversion rate Industry terms
Conversion rate is the share of people who did the thing you wanted, like pre-saving, signing up or buying, out of everyone who reached the page.
Cover art Industry terms
Cover art is the square image that represents a release on every streaming service, store and smart link page.
Crate Industry terms
In Vaulto, a crate is a private collection of tracks shared as one link, for collaborators or listeners, with versions kept together.
D
D2C Industry terms
D2C (direct to consumer) is a brand that sells straight to customers, usually through its own website and social media, instead of through shops or marketplaces.
Deep link Industry terms
A deep link opens a specific screen inside an app, like a song in the Spotify app, instead of a web page.
Deliverability Industry terms
Deliverability is how reliably your emails land in people's inboxes, rather than spam or not at all.
Devotional music Industry terms
Devotional music is music made for worship and spiritual listening, like bhajans, aartis, kirtans and mantras, and it is one of India's largest music categories.
Double opt-in Industry terms
Double opt-in means someone signs up and then confirms by clicking a link in an email, which proves the address is real and theirs.
Drop Internet speak
A drop is a release that goes out at a set moment, like a new song, a merch line or a product, announced ahead so people show up at once.
DSP Industry terms
DSP (digital service provider) is the industry's name for streaming services and digital stores, like Spotify, JioSaavn, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
E
Editorial playlist Industry terms
An editorial playlist is a playlist picked by a streaming service's own team of editors, as opposed to one generated by its algorithm or made by users.
Engagement rate Industry terms
Engagement rate is the share of people who interacted with your content (liked, commented, shared or saved) compared with how many followers you have or how many people saw it.
EPK Industry terms
An EPK (electronic press kit) is an artist's digital press pack: bio, photos, music, videos, press quotes and contacts in one place for media, promoters and brands.
F
H
I
Ice breakers Industry terms
Ice breakers are preset questions shown to someone when they open a new chat with your Instagram account, which they can tap instead of typing.
In-app browser Internet speak
An in-app browser is the built-in browser that opens when you tap a link inside apps like Instagram or Facebook, instead of your phone's normal browser.
Influencer marketing Industry terms
Influencer marketing is a brand working with creators to reach their audiences, paid in money, products or both.
Insta DM Internet speak
An Insta DM is a private direct message on Instagram, the chat inbox separate from public posts and comments.
Instagram algorithm Internet speak
The Instagram algorithm is the set of ranking systems that decide which posts, reels and stories each person sees, and in what order.
Instagram professional account Industry terms
An Instagram professional account is a creator or business account that unlocks insights, contact options and access to approved tools like DM automation.
Instagram SEO Industry terms
Instagram SEO is making your profile and posts easy to find in Instagram search, by using the words people actually type.
IPRS Industry terms
IPRS (the Indian Performing Right Society) is the copyright society in India that collects royalties for songwriters, composers and music publishers when their songs are used.
ISRC Industry terms
An ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is a 12-character code that identifies one specific recording, so its plays and sales can be tracked and paid.
K
L
Landing page Industry terms
A landing page is a web page made for one action, like signing up, pre-saving or buying, that people land on from a link, ad or post.
Lead magnet Industry terms
A lead magnet is something useful you give away, like a guide, preset or checklist, in exchange for someone's email, follow or contact details.
Link in bio Internet speak
"Link in bio" means the clickable link on your Instagram profile, which is the main place a post can send people since captions don't have clickable links.
Link pls Internet speak
"Link pls" is what people comment on a post when they want the link to something they've just seen.
Link sticker Internet speak
A link sticker is the tappable sticker you add to an Instagram story to send viewers to a web page.
Lyrical video Internet speak
A lyrical video is a video that shows a song's lyrics on screen as it plays, the Indian music industry's go-to first video for a new song.
M
Master recording Industry terms
The master recording is the final, released version of a recorded song, and whoever owns it owns the rights to that specific recording.
Media kit Industry terms
A media kit is a creator's one- or two-page summary for brands: who they are, their audience, their reach and engagement, and past collaborations.
Message requests Internet speak
Message requests is the Instagram folder where DMs from people you don't follow land, separate from your main inbox, until you accept them.
Message template Industry terms
A message template is a pre-approved WhatsApp message format a business must use to start a conversation with someone on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Metadata Industry terms
Metadata is the information attached to a release: title, artist names, credits, language, genre, release date and codes like the ISRC and UPC.
Monthly listeners Industry terms
Monthly listeners is the number of different people who played an artist's music on Spotify in the last 28 days.
Music distributor Industry terms
A music distributor delivers your releases to streaming services and stores, and collects the money they earn from plays and sales.
N
New Music Friday Industry terms
New Music Friday is the music industry's shared weekly release day: since 2015, most new music worldwide comes out on Fridays.
Non-film music Industry terms
Non-film music is Indian music made outside the film industry, such as indie, pop, rap and singles released on their own, rather than songs written for films.
O
Open rate Industry terms
Open rate is the share of delivered emails that were opened, usually tracked with a tiny invisible image in the email.
Opt-in Industry terms
An opt-in is a person's clear permission to receive your messages, like ticking a box or entering their email to get updates.
Out now Internet speak
"Out now" is the release-day announcement that something can be listened to or bought right now, usually with a link to it.
Owned audience Industry terms
An owned audience is the people you can reach directly, like your email list or opted-in WhatsApp contacts, without depending on a platform's algorithm.
P
Pinned comment Internet speak
A pinned comment is a comment you fix at the top of your post's comments, so everyone sees it first; you can pin up to three.
Playlist pitching Industry terms
Playlist pitching is sending an unreleased song to playlist editors or curators, with a short description, so they can consider it for a playlist.
Pre-add Industry terms
A pre-add is Apple Music's version of a pre-save: a listener adds an upcoming release to their library, and it appears there automatically when it comes out.
Pre-save Industry terms
A pre-save lets a fan sign up for a song or album before it comes out, so it reaches them the moment it is released.
Promo pack Industry terms
A promo pack is a bundle of files for press, playlists or partners, such as artwork, lyric sheets, audio, video and documents, shared together for one release or campaign.
Q
R
Rate card Industry terms
A rate card is a creator's price list for brand work, with a price for each format, like a reel, story or post, plus extras like usage rights.
Reach Industry terms
Reach is the number of different accounts that saw your content at least once.
Reel Internet speak
A reel is a short vertical video on Instagram, up to 3 minutes long, and the format Instagram shows most to people who don't follow you.
Regional language release Industry terms
A regional language release is music in one of India's many languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi or Punjabi, released to reach listeners in that language.
Release flow Industry terms
A release flow is a set of messages sent automatically around a release: an announcement before it, a reminder the day before, an out-now message and a follow-up.
Reply Drop Industry terms
Reply Drop is Aulto's Instagram comment-to-DM feature: when someone comments your keyword on a post, they get your message and link in their DMs instantly.
Rollout Internet speak
A rollout is the whole plan around a release, from the first tease to the follow-up weeks after it comes out.
S
Saves Industry terms
A save is when a listener adds a song or album to their own library, a strong sign they want to hear it again.
Sends Internet speak
Sends are the times people shared your post or reel with someone else by DM, one of the strongest signs that content is worth showing to more people.
Shadowban Internet speak
"Shadowban" is the popular name for content quietly being shown to fewer people; Instagram doesn't use the word, but it does limit recommendations for some content.
Short link Industry terms
A short link is a brief web address that forwards to a longer one, making it easier to share, type and track.
Smart link Industry terms
A smart link is one web address for a release that sends each listener to the streaming app they already use.
Snippet Internet speak
A snippet is a short clip of an unreleased song shared to build interest before release, usually 10 to 30 seconds of the catchiest part.
Spotify for Artists Industry terms
Spotify for Artists is Spotify's free app and website for artists and their teams to manage their profile, pitch new music and see their listening stats.
Streaming royalties Industry terms
Streaming royalties are the money streaming services pay out when your music is played, split between the owners of the recording and the owners of the song.
Superfan Internet speak
A superfan is one of the small group of fans who do the most: they stream on repeat, buy merch and tickets, and bring other people in.
Swipe up Internet speak
"Swipe up" was Instagram's old way to open a link from a story; Instagram replaced it with the link sticker in 2021, though people still say it.
T
Tap to send Industry terms
Tap to send is a Reply Drop mode where the first DM is a short message with a button, and the link is sent when the person taps it.
Trending audio Internet speak
Trending audio is a sound or song that many reels are using right now, shown with an arrow next to its name on Instagram.
U
UGC Internet speak
UGC (user-generated content) is content made by customers or fans rather than the brand or artist, like reviews, unboxings or reels using a song.
UPC Industry terms
A UPC is the barcode number that identifies a whole release (a single, EP or album), while each track on it has its own ISRC.
UTM parameters Industry terms
UTM parameters are short tags added to the end of a link that tell your analytics where a click came from, such as Instagram, WhatsApp or an email.
V
Vanity URL Industry terms
A vanity URL is a web address with a name you choose, like yourname.aul.to, that's easy to remember and says who it belongs to.
Vaulto Industry terms
Vaulto is Aulto's private, code-protected way to share unreleased tracks, stems or masters: listeners verify their email with a one-time code, and the link expires when you say.
W
Waterfall release Industry terms
A waterfall release puts out songs one at a time, with each new release including the earlier ones, so a project builds up single by single.
WhatsApp broadcast Industry terms
A WhatsApp broadcast is one message sent to many opted-in contacts at once, each receiving it as a private chat rather than in a group.
WhatsApp Business app Industry terms
The WhatsApp Business app is WhatsApp's app for small businesses, with a business profile, catalogue, quick replies, labels and broadcast lists, run from a phone.
WhatsApp Business Platform Industry terms
The WhatsApp Business Platform (the WhatsApp Business API) lets businesses message customers at scale through software, using Meta-approved templates and opted-in contacts.
#
24-hour customer service window Industry terms
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, when someone messages a business, the business can reply freely for 24 hours; after that it must use an approved template.
30-second rule Industry terms
On Spotify, a play counts as a stream once someone has listened to a track for 30 seconds or more.