WordPress Plugin: LabelGrid Tools Setup

Updated September 2026.

LabelGrid Tools is the official WordPress plugin that automatically syncs your release catalog, artist profiles, and download gates from LabelGrid to your WordPress website. LabelGrid is the source of truth — the plugin imports your data every 6 hours, so your website always reflects your latest catalog.

Available on any plan

LabelGrid Tools is available to all LabelGrid accounts at no additional cost — an API plan is not required. It is one of two ways to get the LabelGrid smart-link experience: every release already has a hosted landing page and short link on LabelGrid’s domain (see Release Landing Pages), and this plugin delivers the same per-release pages — store links, Spotify pre-save buttons, and gated downloads — on your own branded WordPress domain, together with your full catalogue and artist profiles.

Overview

What you can do

You can place any of these features on your site as a shortcode, as a native Gutenberg block, or through Elementor — see Blocks (Gutenberg) and Elementor.

Feature	Description
Automatic catalog sync	Releases, artists, and download gates sync from LabelGrid every 6 hours
Release pages	Landing pages with artwork and links to all major streaming platforms and stores
Artist profiles	Artist pages with biographies, social links, and discography
Release grids	Filterable grids of your catalog by genre, label, or artist
Release banners	Homepage banners showcasing your latest or featured releases
Spotify pre-save	Pre-save buttons with playlist and artist follow actions
Pre-orders	Support for iTunes, Apple Music, Beatport, Juno, and Amazon pre-orders
Download gates	Email capture gates with Spotify follow actions
Spotify Web Player	Embedded Spotify player on release pages
Press releases	Dedicated press release sections on release pages
iTunes affiliate links	Earn commission on iTunes purchases through your site
Yoast SEO integration	Open Graph metadata for social sharing

Requirements

• WordPress 7.0 or higher
• PHP 8.0 or higher
• An active LabelGrid account (no API plan required)

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Installation

From WordPress admin

1. Go to Plugins → Add New
2. Search for “LabelGrid Tools”
3. Click Install Now
4. Click Activate

Manual installation

1. Download the plugin from LabelGrid
2. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Select the downloaded ZIP file
4. Click Install Now
5. Click Activate

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Configuration

Getting your API key

Keys created for earlier plugin versions no longer work

LabelGrid no longer accepts API keys created for earlier versions of the plugin. If your download gates, pre-saves, or catalog sync have stopped working, create a new key with the steps below and paste it into the plugin. Nothing else needs changing — your existing gates and pre-saves keep their configuration.

While the key is rejected, the Download Gate tab disappears from the plugin settings. The feature has not been removed; the tab returns as soon as a working key is saved.

LabelGrid runs this check, not the plugin, so every plugin version is affected. Sites still on 1.5.0 or 1.6.0 are not left in silence — they show a single older, less specific banner, LabelGrid API DISABLED: Verify the API Token is correct and that your account is enabled for LabelGrid API Services., which describes the same problem. See Gates, pre-saves, and catalog sync stopped working for every message and what each one means.

Before configuring the plugin, create an authorization key in LabelGrid:

1. Log into LabelGrid
2. Click your user menu (your name/avatar in the top-right corner)
3. Click Wordpress from the dropdown menu
4. Click the Configure Plugin button
5. In Step 1: Create Key, select which labels to include:
   • Choose All My Labels to sync your entire catalog
   • Or select specific labels to limit what appears on your website
6. Click Create New Key
7. Enter your WordPress website domain (e.g., https://yoursite.com)
8. Click OK to generate the key
9. Copy the access token — you’ll need this for WordPress

Caution

Each key is tied to a specific domain. If you have multiple WordPress sites, create a separate key for each one.

Plugin settings

Open LabelGrid Tools → General Settings in your WordPress admin — it is a top-level menu item, not under WordPress Settings — to reach LabelGrid Tools Settings. The settings page has six tabs:

Connection · Release Pages · Artist Pages · Links & Services · Download Gate · System

Download Gate appears only when the download gate is active. It is hidden entirely while the plugin has no working API key, so if the tab is missing, see Gates, pre-saves, and catalog sync stopped working.

Connection

Setting	Description
LabelGrid API Token	Paste the access token you copied from LabelGrid. As of 1.6.1 this is a single-line field, matching the shorter keys LabelGrid now issues
Automatic LabelGrid API Content Sync	Enable or disable automatic catalog synchronization

Release Pages

Setting	Description
Show unreleased releases	Display upcoming releases on your site
Spotify Pre-Save	Enable Spotify pre-save buttons on unreleased content
Spotify Pre-Save - Collect Email	No / Yes (obligatory) / Yes (optional) — collect emails during pre-save
iTunes / Apple Music / Beatport / Juno / Amazon Music Pre-Order	Enable pre-order links for iTunes, Apple Music, Beatport, Juno, and Amazon
Show Spotify Web Player	Show embedded Spotify player on release pages
Show press release	Display press release sections
Show featured artists	Show featured artists on release pages
Show similar releases	Display similar releases
Field below Artwork	Choose what to display below artwork: release code or record label

Artist Pages

Setting	Description
Show Twitter feed	Show Twitter feed on artist pages
Show Bandsintown feed	Add a Bandsintown feed on artist pages

Links & Services

Setting	Description
Release services / Artist services	Order and show or hide the streaming and store links on release and artist pages
Custom Services	Add your own services to display on release and artist pages
Apple Performance Partner Program Token	Your iTunes affiliate token for earning commission on purchases

Download Gate

Setting	Description
Show press release	Press visibility settings
Show featured artists	Control artist display on gate pages
Button Label	Custom text for gate buttons
Welcome title	Title shown on the gate landing page
Welcome description	Description text for the gate landing page
Gate button label	Text for the gate wizard button

System

Setting	Description
Error log level	Set logging verbosity for troubleshooting
Log Retention Days	How long to keep system logs
View System Logs	Open the stored system logs
System Information	Environment details to include when you contact support
Uninstall	Information only, with no button or setting. It explains that deleting the plugin from the Plugins screen removes its settings, including the API token, along with its log and gate-entry tables, while your releases, artists, download gates and their fields stay in the database

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Catalog sync

The plugin automatically syncs your catalog from LabelGrid every 6 hours. This includes releases, artists, and download gates.

The plugin creates three custom post types in WordPress:

Post type	Description	URL structure
Release	Music releases with artwork, metadata, and platform links	/release/release-name/
Artist	Artist profiles with biography and social links	/artist/artist-name/
Gate Download	Download gates with email capture	/free-download/gate-name/

Download gates also support a Gate Category taxonomy for organizing your gates into groups.

Note

LabelGrid is the source of truth. Edits you make to release or artist posts in WordPress will be overwritten on the next sync. Make all catalog changes in LabelGrid.

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Shortcodes

The plugin provides 11 shortcodes organized into four categories: releases, artists, download gates, and pre-save. Every shortcode also has a matching Gutenberg block with the same options — see Blocks (Gutenberg).

Release shortcodes

[labelgrid-release-list]

Display your releases in a filterable grid.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-release-list items-page="12" items-row="4"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
show-title	null	Show release titles
label	null	Filter by record label
items-page	12	Number of releases per page
items-row	4	Number of columns per row
pagination	null	Enable pagination
showcase-last	null	Enable showcase mode
item-filter	released	Filter type: released or unreleased
title-below	null	Position title below artwork
filter-artists	null	Filter by artist IDs
exclude	null	Exclude specific release IDs
image-quality	lgt_artwork_medium	Image size preset

Show upcoming releases:

[labelgrid-release-list item-filter="unreleased" items-row="3"]

[labelgrid-release-list-filter]

Add a dropdown filter above your release grid. Place this shortcode before [labelgrid-release-list] on the same page.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-release-list-filter]
[labelgrid-release-list items-page="12"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
record_label	null	Show a record label filter dropdown

[labelgrid-release-banner]

Display a banner featuring one or more releases — ideal for homepages.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-release-banner items-page="1"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
label	null	Filter by record label
items-page	1	Number of releases to show
item-filter	released	Filter type: released or unreleased
item-order	DESC	Sort order: DESC (newest first) or ASC
filter-artists	null	Filter by artist IDs
exclude	null	Exclude specific release IDs

[labelgrid-release-links]

Show streaming and store links for a specific release. Use this inside release page templates or on any page by specifying a release ID.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-release-links]

With a specific release:

[labelgrid-release-links release-id="123" artists="true"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
release-id	Current post ID	The release post ID
artists	null	Show artist information alongside links

[labelgrid-release-detail]

Render the full release detail page, including artwork, metadata, platform links, and embedded player. This shortcode uses the current post and takes no parameters.

Example (in a release template):

[labelgrid-release-detail]

Artist shortcodes

[labelgrid-artist-list]

Display your artists in a grid layout.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-artist-list items-page="8" items-row="4"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
show-title	false	Show artist names below images
category	null	Filter by category
items-page	12	Number of artists per page
items-row	4	Number of columns per row
pagination	null	Enable pagination
title-below	null	Position title below image

[labelgrid-artist-detail]

Render the full artist profile page, including biography, social links, and discography. This shortcode uses the current post and takes no parameters.

Example (in an artist template):

[labelgrid-artist-detail]

Download gate shortcodes

[labelgrid-gate-button]

Display a download gate button. When clicked, the visitor goes through the gate flow (email capture and optional social follows) before getting access to the download.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-gate-button]

With custom text:

[labelgrid-gate-button gate-id="45" button-label="Get Free Download" custom-class="my-button"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
gate-id	Current post ID	The gate download post ID
post-id	Current post ID	Associated release post ID
button-label	null	Custom button text
custom-class	null	Additional CSS class
download-text	null	Custom download button text

[labelgrid-gate-download-list]

Display your download gates in a grid layout.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-gate-download-list items-page="6" items-row="3"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
show-title	false	Show gate titles
category	null	Filter by gate category
items-page	12	Items per page
items-row	4	Columns per row
pagination	null	Enable pagination
title-below	null	Position title below image

[labelgrid-gate-download-detail]

Render the full download gate detail page. This shortcode uses the current post and takes no parameters.

Example (in a gate template):

[labelgrid-gate-download-detail]

Pre-save shortcode

[labelgrid-presave-button]

Display a Spotify pre-save button for an upcoming release. Visitors can pre-save the release and optionally follow the artist and a playlist on Spotify.

Basic example:

[labelgrid-presave-button]

For a specific release:

[labelgrid-presave-button release-id="123"]

Parameters:

Parameter	Default	Description
release-id	Current post ID	The release post ID

Tip

Enable “Spotify Pre-Save - Collect Email” in the Release Pages settings tab to collect email addresses during the pre-save flow.

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Gate and pre-save actions

A download gate asks fans to connect Spotify and complete one or more actions before the download unlocks. A pre-save always saves the release itself, and can add follow actions on top.

The Spotify actions available are:

• Save the release — always included in a pre-save
• Follow an artist
• Follow a playlist
• Follow a Spotify profile — new in 1.6.0

Follow targets are not limited to artists in your own catalog, so you can point a gate at a collaborator or a featured artist.

SoundCloud and Twitter actions are paused

As of version 1.6.0, download gate actions are Spotify only. SoundCloud and Twitter actions are paused while they are rebuilt: they no longer run and no longer appear to fans, and a gate keeps working with its Spotify actions.

If one of your gates asked fans to connect more than one service, the plugin now asks only for the services still available, because otherwise the gate could never be completed. Your saved setting is untouched and returns to normal when the other services come back. Review any gate that previously required more than one account and check that its remaining Spotify actions still ask for what you want.

A gate whose actions were all SoundCloud or Twitter has nothing left to ask for, and does not run at all until you add a Spotify action to it.

How action limits are counted

Gates accept far more Spotify actions than before, and the gate editor shows how many you have used as you edit.

Each link counts as one action. An action row holding three playlist links counts as three, not one. This is the part that catches people out when a gate looks close to the limit.

Searching playlists during a pre-save

When a pre-save offers to add the release to one of your fan’s playlists, they can search their playlists instead of scrolling the whole list.

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Blocks (Gutenberg)

As of version 1.5.0, LabelGrid Tools ships native block-editor blocks for every feature. In the WordPress editor, click the block inserter (the + button) and look for the LabelGrid Tools category, or search for a block by name. Set each block’s options in the block sidebar — the same options its matching shortcode accepts.

There are 11 blocks, one for each shortcode:

Block	Equivalent shortcode	What it does
LabelGrid Release List	[labelgrid-release-list]	Responsive grid of your releases (columns, items per page, label, pagination, title options)
LabelGrid Release List Filter	[labelgrid-release-list-filter]	Genre filter (plus a record-label filter when a label is configured); pair it with a release list on the same view
LabelGrid Release Banner	[labelgrid-release-banner]	Full-width banner featuring a release — ideal for homepages
LabelGrid Release Links	[labelgrid-release-links]	Streaming and store links for the current release
LabelGrid Release Detail	[labelgrid-release-detail]	The full release body; use it on a Releases single template
LabelGrid Artist List	[labelgrid-artist-list]	Responsive grid of your artists
LabelGrid Artist Detail	[labelgrid-artist-detail]	The full artist body; use it on an Artists single template
LabelGrid Gate Button	[labelgrid-gate-button]	Download-gate button; renders only when the LabelGrid connection is active
LabelGrid Gate Download List	[labelgrid-gate-download-list]	Grid of gated downloads; renders only when the connection is active
LabelGrid Gate Download Detail	[labelgrid-gate-download-detail]	The full gated-download body; renders only when the connection is active
LabelGrid Presave Button	[labelgrid-presave-button]	Spotify pre-save button; renders only when the connection is active and the release date has not passed

Blocks and shortcodes are interchangeable

Each block wraps the same renderer as its matching shortcode, so a page built with blocks and a page built with shortcodes produce identical output. Blocks are purely additive — adding a block never changes a page you did not add it to, and your existing release and artist templates are unchanged when you update the plugin. Prefer shortcodes? They remain fully supported and work in any theme.

Avoid rendering the detail twice

On a single-item template in the Site Editor (block themes), use either the Release Detail / Artist Detail block or WordPress’s Post Content (“Content”) block — not both. Using both renders the release or artist detail twice.

Note

The Gate Button, Gate Download List, Gate Download Detail, and Presave Button blocks render only on sites connected to a LabelGrid account on an active plan.

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Elementor

Every LabelGrid Tools feature is also available as a shortcode, and Elementor’s built-in Shortcode widget — part of free Elementor — drops any of them onto a page with no extra add-on. The Theme Builder recipe below is different: Single templates, display conditions, and the Post Content widget are Elementor Pro features. With free Elementor, put a Shortcode widget on any page instead — and the plugin’s built-in release and artist pages already render on their own, without any Elementor template at all.

To build release and artist pages with Elementor Pro’s Theme Builder:

1. Create a Theme Builder → Single template and set its display condition to Releases (and/or Artists).
2. For the release or artist body, use a Shortcode widget containing [labelgrid-release-detail] / [labelgrid-artist-detail] — this path always renders the detail. The Post Content widget also renders it on most setups. Use one, never both, or the detail renders twice.
3. Add release grids, banners, artist rosters, smart-link buttons, pre-saves, and download gates anywhere else on your layout with the Shortcode widget.

Note

Download-gate and pre-save features render only on sites connected to a LabelGrid account on an active plan.

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Using your own theme template for release and artist pages

By default, the plugin renders release and artist single pages by injecting its own layout into the page content, so they work without any theme changes. If you would rather build these pages in your theme, the plugin can step aside and let a classic PHP template render them.

To take over rendering in a classic theme:

1. Add add_theme_support( 'labelgrid-tools-templates' ); to your theme’s functions.php.
2. Add a classic single-release.php and/or single-artist.php template to your theme.

When a theme both opts in and provides the matching template, the plugin detects that your template has taken over and suppresses its own content injection, so the page renders once from your template with no duplicated layout. Place the release or artist body wherever you want it with the Release Detail / Artist Detail blocks or the [labelgrid-release-detail] / [labelgrid-artist-detail] shortcodes inside your template.

You can also toggle the opt-in per request with the lgt_use_theme_templates filter. It receives the current opt-in value and the current post and returns true or false, so you can enable your theme template for only some releases or artists.

Note

This override applies to classic PHP templates only. Taking over release and artist pages from a block theme’s Site Editor is not covered yet and is a planned addition. Sites that do not opt in are unaffected: the built-in layout renders exactly as before.

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CSS classes reference

The plugin uses these CSS class prefixes for styling:

Class	Element
.lgsquarelist	Grid container for release and artist lists
.releaseelement	Individual release or artist card
.elementrow1 through .elementrow8	Column-specific layout (matches items-row setting)
.elementrowx	Flexible layout variant
.spotify, .twitter, .youtube, .soundcloud, .facebook	Service-specific styling on platform links
.banner-*	Release banner elements
.gate, .gateimage, .freedownload	Download gate elements

Note

Shortcodes work in any theme and page builder. The same features are also available as native Gutenberg blocks and through Elementor — see Blocks (Gutenberg) and Elementor above.

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Troubleshooting

Gates, pre-saves, and catalog sync stopped working

LabelGrid no longer accepts API keys created for earlier versions of the plugin. If download gates, Spotify pre-saves, or catalog sync stopped working without you changing anything, this is almost always why.

The fix: create a new key and paste it into the plugin. The steps are the same as the first time — see Getting your API key. Your existing gates and pre-saves keep their configuration, so there is nothing to rebuild.

What you may notice:

• Download gates, pre-saves, and catalog sync stop working.
• The Download Gate tab is missing from the plugin settings. The feature has not been removed: the tab is hidden while there is no working key, and returns once you save a new one.
• Version 1.6.1 shows one of three specific notices in the WordPress admin. Earlier versions, 1.5.0 and 1.6.0 included, show a single older and less specific one instead — LabelGrid API DISABLED: Verify the API Token is correct and that your account is enabled for LabelGrid API Services., with a Set API in General Settings link — but are affected in exactly the same way, because the check happens at LabelGrid and not in the plugin.

What the plugin’s notices mean

Version 1.6.1 shows one of three messages. Two of them start with LabelGrid API DISABLED:, so read the whole sentence before acting.

Your key needs replacing:

LabelGrid API DISABLED: Your API key was rejected. Keys created for older versions of this plugin are no longer accepted — create a new API key in your LabelGrid account and paste it below.

Create a new key with the steps in Getting your API key and paste it into the plugin.

No key has been saved yet:

LabelGrid API DISABLED: No API key is set, so gates, pre-saves and catalog sync are inactive.

Create a key and paste it into the plugin settings.

A temporary connection problem, not a key problem:

LabelGrid API UNAVAILABLE: We could not reach LabelGrid to check your connection. This is usually temporary and your key is probably fine — the check runs again automatically.

To re-check straight away on any version, change a setting and save. The Save Settings button stays greyed out until something actually changes, and re-pasting the same key does not count as a change — so change any setting, save, then change it back and save again. Log Retention Days on the System tab is a harmless one to use. Each save runs a fresh connection check, and your site ends up exactly as it started.

From version 1.6.2, the daily background check also re-runs on its own as long as a key is saved, so a site whose outage or rate limit has passed recovers without anyone touching it. On 1.5.0, 1.6.0 and 1.6.1 it never did: once the plugin had switched itself off, the daily check skipped the connection test until someone saved the settings by hand.

This applies to connection problems only. A rejected key never fixes itself on any version — see Your key needs replacing above. If it persists, see API connection errors.

Releases not appearing

1. Go to LabelGrid Tools → General Settings — a top-level menu item, not under WordPress Settings — and verify your API token is entered correctly
2. Check that auto-sync is enabled in the Connection tab
3. Wait up to 6 hours for the next sync cycle, or deactivate and reactivate the plugin to trigger an immediate sync
4. Verify the releases are published in LabelGrid (not in draft status)
5. Check LabelGrid Tools → General Settings → System and increase the debug level, then check the logs

Shortcodes showing as plain text

1. Make sure the plugin is activated in Plugins
2. Verify you are using hyphens in shortcode names (e.g., [labelgrid-release-list]), not underscores
3. Check for typos in the shortcode name

Styling issues

1. Check for CSS conflicts with your theme
2. Use your browser’s developer tools to inspect the element classes
3. Add custom CSS overrides targeting the plugin’s class names (see the CSS classes reference above)
4. Test with a default WordPress theme to isolate theme conflicts

API connection errors

1. Verify your API token is valid and not expired
2. Confirm your LabelGrid account is active
3. Check that your server can make outbound requests to api.labelgrid.com
4. Review the plugin logs for specific error messages

Gate entries and exports

Download gate entries (email addresses collected) can be exported as CSV from the WordPress admin. Go to the gate download post and look for the export option.

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Updates

Automatic updates

1. Go to Plugins in your WordPress admin
2. Find “LabelGrid Tools”
3. Click Enable auto-updates

Manual updates

1. Download the latest version from LabelGrid
2. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Upload the new ZIP file
4. WordPress will prompt you to replace the existing version
5. Click Replace current with uploaded

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FAQ

”What is the LabelGrid Tools WordPress plugin?”

LabelGrid Tools is LabelGrid’s official WordPress plugin. It automatically syncs your release catalog, artist profiles, and download gates from LabelGrid to your WordPress site every 6 hours, and adds smart-link release pages, Spotify pre-save buttons, and gated downloads. It is available on the WordPress Plugin Directory.

”Do I need a paid or API plan to use the WordPress plugin?”

No — LabelGrid Tools is available to all LabelGrid accounts at no additional cost, and an API plan is not required. The Gate features it provides are included with all standard and API plans, and a standalone Gate plan exists for users who only want WordPress integration without distribution.

”How do I install and connect the plugin?”

Install LabelGrid Tools from Plugins, then Add New in WordPress and activate it. In LabelGrid, open your user menu, then Wordpress, then Configure Plugin, create an authorization key for your domain, and paste the access token into the plugin’s Connection settings tab. Each key is tied to one domain.

”How often does the plugin sync my catalog?”

The plugin syncs your releases, artists, and download gates from LabelGrid every 6 hours. LabelGrid is the source of truth, so make all catalog edits in LabelGrid — changes made directly to synced WordPress posts are overwritten on the next sync.

”Can I add Spotify pre-saves to my site with the plugin?”

Yes. Enable Spotify pre-save in the Release Pages settings tab and place the [labelgrid-presave-button] shortcode on an upcoming release. Visitors can pre-save the release and optionally follow the artist and a playlist, and you can collect emails during the pre-save flow.

”Can I use Gutenberg blocks or Elementor, or only shortcodes?”

All three. As of version 1.5.0, every feature is available as a shortcode, as a native Gutenberg block — find them in the block inserter under the LabelGrid Tools category — and through Elementor via its Shortcode widget. Each block renders the same output as its matching shortcode, and shortcodes still work in any theme.

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Related

Learn more about the LabelGrid Tools WordPress plugin — smart-link landing pages, Spotify pre-save campaigns, and gated downloads — on our website. See also Setting Up Pre-Save Campaigns.

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Need help?

If you need assistance with the WordPress plugin, contact our support team with details about your WordPress version, PHP version, and any error messages from the plugin logs.