Overview
Single supports this, but there's one important thing to know about how it works:
When you use "Let Us Create the Album Product" in Single, we build a brand-new product in your store for that release. That new product won't merge into a product you've already set up with multiple format variants.
When you use "Attach to a Product You've Already Made," Single connects the release to a product (and a specific variant) that you created in Shopify. Nothing about your product page, pricing, or checkout changes — fans who buy that variant simply get an email link to stream and download the album.
So to sell your album as a Digital variant alongside physical formats, the order is:
In Shopify: build the product with a Digital variant.
In Single: attach the release to that Digital variant.
This guide walks through both.
Part 1 — Set up the product with a "Digital" variant in Shopify
Do this in your Shopify admin before you publish the release in Single.
1. Open (or create) the album product
In Shopify, go to Products and open the product for this album, or click Add product to create a new one. Add your title, description, and artwork as usual.
2. Add a "Format" option with a Digital variant
Scroll to the Variants section and click Add options like size or color.
In the Option name field, type
Format. If Shopify shows "No compatible metafields found," click Create "Format".Under Option values, add each format you sell — e.g.
Vinyl,CD,Digital— then click Done.
Shopify generates a row for each variant.
3. Set pricing for each variant
Set a price on each variant row. Digital is typically priced lower than physical formats — for example, Vinyl $35, CD $15, Digital $10. Set whatever works for your release.
4. Save the product
Click Save.
Important: You have to save the product before you can open an individual variant to change its inventory and shipping settings. Inventory tracking and shipping are on by default for every new variant.
5. Turn off inventory tracking and shipping for the Digital variant
Because the Digital variant is delivered by email — not shipped — you don't want Shopify holding inventory or charging shipping for it.
Click into the Digital variant. On the right side:
Under Inventory, toggle off so it reads Inventory not tracked (digital doesn't run out).
Under Shipping, toggle off so it reads Not a physical product.
Leave your Vinyl and CD variants with inventory and shipping on so they still track stock and ship normally.
6. Save again
Click Save once more. Your product now has a Digital variant ready to connect to Single.
Part 2 — Attach the release to the Digital variant in Single
Now connect your album release to the Digital variant you just created.
1. Open the release and go to Publish
In Single, open your release and move through to the Publish step (step 4). Under "How would you like to release this?", choose Attach to a Product You've Already Made and click Select Products.
Do not choose "Let Us Create the Album Product" here — that would create a separate new product instead of using the one with your variants.
2. Search for your product
On the Attach Release to Existing Products page, type your product title into the search box and select it from the results.
3. Choose the Digital variant
Since your product has multiple formats, a Variants Detected window appears asking which items to add. Toggle on Digital (leave Vinyl and CD off if you're only attaching the digital album), then click Add to Queue.
4. Set the attachment details
The Digital variant now appears as a card. Fill in the fields:
Attached Product Type: choose Digital Release or Preorder.
Reporting Type: choose Digital (All Territories) (or Reporting Disabled if you don't report to charts).
UPC / EAN: enter the UPC/EAN for the digital release.
Managed Fulfillment: set to Enabled so Single automatically marks these orders fulfilled on your publish or release date — no manual fulfillment needed.
Deliver to Existing Orders: only appears if the product already has purchases. Set to Enabled to deliver this release to fans who bought the product before you attached it (this bills per unit — see step 5), or Disabled to deliver only to future buyers.
5. Create the attachment
Click Create Attachments.
If Managed Fulfillment is enabled, a confirmation appears explaining Single will auto-update fulfillment status on the release date — click Continue.
If you turned on Deliver to Existing Orders for this attachment, a Deliver to Existing Purchases? step appears next. This delivers the release to everyone who has already bought the product, based on its publish or release date.
Heads up — this bills you! You'll be charged per unit for those past purchases, based on your subscription tier. To confirm, type DELIVER TO ALL PURCHASES in the box, then click Continue. If you don't want to deliver to past buyers, go Back and set Deliver to Existing Orders to Disabled.
Next, review The Legal Stuff — confirming you own or are licensed for these recordings and agree to Single's Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Copyright Policy — then click Create Attachments.
✅ DONE - Your release is now attached to the Digital variant!
What your fans experience
When a fan buys the Digital variant from your product page, they'll receive an email with a link to stream and download the full album. Your product page, pricing, and checkout stay exactly as you set them up in Shopify — fans buying Vinyl or CD are unaffected and still get their physical order shipped.
Want to add a tracklist with 30s previews? Add a tracklist to your product page so shoppers can preview what's on the album. See Adding the tracklist block to your Shopify product templates.
Tips & troubleshooting
One release per digital variant. Attach a single release to the Digital variant so fans get the right album.
Selling a pre-order? Set your pre-order or release date in Single as usual — the digital delivery link goes out according to that date.
Don't see your product in the picker? Make sure it's saved in Shopify first, then refresh the page in Single.
Accidentally created a duplicate product? If you used "Let Us Create the Album Product" by mistake, you can delete the extra product Single created in Shopify, then re-publish using Attach to a Product You've Already Made.
Shipping charged on a digital order? Open the Digital variant in Shopify and confirm the Shipping toggle reads Not a physical product. Remember you must Save the product first before these toggles are editable.