Download Gates
How to Set Up a Free Download Gate on BassFan
A step-by-step walkthrough of creating a download gate on BassFan — from uploading your track to configuring social requirements and sharing your link.
By Maxime · · 6 min read
Setting up a download gate on BassFan takes under five minutes. This guide walks you through the entire process — from logging in to sharing your link — and covers all the options available to you along the way.
Step 1: Go to your Music Editor
From your BassFan dashboard, navigate to the Music section via the left sidebar. This is your central hub for managing all your releases, tracks, and download gates.
Inside the Music Editor, you'll see your existing releases listed. To create a new gate, either add a new release or open an existing one that you want to make available as a free download.
Step 2: Create or select a release
Each download gate is attached to a release. A release can be a single track, an EP, an album, a mix, or any piece of audio content. Click Add release to start fresh, or select an existing release to add a gate to it.
Essential release details
- Title — what the track or release is called
- Artist name — defaults to your profile, but can be customised for collabs
- Cover artwork — square image, at least 1000×1000px recommended
- Audio file — the actual MP3, WAV, or FLAC that fans will download
- Genre and tags — helps with discoverability on the directory
Step 3: Enable the download gate
Inside the release editor, find the Download Gate section. Toggle it on to activate the gate for this release. Once enabled, you'll see the gate configuration options.
Step 4: Configure your gate requirements
This is where you choose what fans need to do before the download unlocks. You can require one or multiple actions:
SoundCloud actions
- Follow your SoundCloud profile
- Like a specific track (paste the track URL)
- Repost a specific track (paste the track URL)
SoundCloud actions are verified in real time via SoundCloud's API. The fan logs in with their SoundCloud account and the action is confirmed before the download is released.
Email collection
You can also require the fan to submit their email address. This is entirely optional and can be combined with SoundCloud requirements. Collected emails are stored in your BassFan account for later use.
Tips on choosing your gate actions
- Follows are the most common requirement — they build your long-term SoundCloud presence
- Reposts are the highest-value action because they spread your track to the fan's followers automatically
- Likes are the lowest friction and work well for casual releases
- Stacking too many requirements (follow + like + repost + email) can reduce conversion — one or two is usually optimal
Step 5: Set up pre-release gating (optional)
BassFan supports pre-release gates — where the gate page is live and visible, but the download only becomes available after a specific date. This is useful for building hype before a drop. You can tease the artwork and title, collect follows in advance, and trigger the actual download automatically on release day.
Step 6: Customise your gate page
Your gate page is public-facing, so it's worth making it look good. BassFan uses your release artwork, title, and artist name automatically. You can also add:
- A description or message to fans (e.g. "Recorded live at Fabric, December 2025")
- A SoundCloud track embed so fans can preview before committing
- A link to a SoundCloud track for the repost/like requirement
Step 7: Share your gate link
Once your gate is live, BassFan generates a permanent URL at your artist subdomain — for example, yourname.bass.fan/release-name. This is the link to share everywhere:
- Instagram and Facebook stories and posts
- SoundCloud track descriptions
- DJ forums and community groups
- Your email list
- WhatsApp and Telegram fan groups
- Your LinkTree or similar link hub
Your release also appears automatically on freedl.bass.fan — the global BassFan free download directory — giving it organic discoverability from fans who are actively searching for new music to download.
Step 8: Track your downloads
Your Music Editor dashboard shows download counts in real time. You can see total downloads, downloads over time, and (if you collected emails) the contact details of your fans. This data lives in your BassFan account permanently.
Best practices for a successful gate
- Make the music worth the action — the gate only works if fans genuinely want the track
- Use high-quality artwork — the first thing a fan sees is the cover image
- Write a compelling description — context makes people more likely to go through with the action
- Share it in communities where this specific music will land, not just your existing audience
- Put a SoundCloud embed on the gate page so fans can sample before deciding
- Time your release — dropping a festival set the week after a big show tends to outperform cold drops
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