Paid Advertising

There are so many paid advertising opportunities, but I will break down a few that appear to be the go-to when promoting a new record or album.

Digital Advertising

There are also so many platforms that assist with placing digital ads. One that I have found to be incredibly helpful is found.ee (this is not a paid advertisement). This platform provides a cheaper option for getting your advertisement in some of the music industry’s most popular publishers, such as RollingStone and Pitchfork. These ads come in many flavors: web & mobile ads, video ads, and newsletter banners. All of these options are a great way to promote your release; however, I am a huge fan of video ads that feature the music video for the new release. These ads can lead to your Spotify page to drive traffic and overall streams, or they can lead to your pre-save page that lists all of the hyperlinked streaming platforms so that fans can select their preferred way to listen to the record.

Another digital ad platform is Google Ads. This is not as user friendly as found.ee; however, it is a more robust platform that offers a lot more ways to track a specific outcome (ex. visiting a certain page on a website or making a purchase).

Meta Advertising

I am constantly asked whether placing ads on Instagram and Facebook is worth the spend. Overall, I see it as another tool in your toolbox when advertising a new release. It is hard to focus on the direct return on investment (i.e. making more money than what was initially spent) because if you are directing traffic to a Spotify page, the payment for streams is notoriously low in comparison to the cost of placing these ads. However, it is a great way to increase overall brand awareness for you as an artist as well as for your release.

Spotify Marque

Spotify provides an in-platform service that can be scheduled up to 18 days after the release date. You may have experienced this as a fan: you open the Spotify app and immediately are greeted with a pop-up that promotes one of your favorite artist’s new releases. Marquee allows you to target specific countries/regions, in addition to providing you budget recommendations based on the number of fans you have in a certain area and the cost to reach all of those fans. A few requirements should be kept in mind when scheduling a campaign: at least 50% of songs need to be new to the product being promoted (e.g. more than 50% of the songs on the upcoming album cannot have already been released) and the campaign must start within 21 days of the release date. More information can be found here. Also, more recently, Spotify launched “Showcase,” which allows you to promote new and catalog (older) releases. Instead of a pop-up, Showcase secures a banner at the top of the Spotify mobile app’s Home tab.

Billboard Advertising / Out-Of-Home Advertising

If you have a larger budget (approx. $1,000-$2,000 or more), you can always secure billboard advertisements in areas where a majority of your fanbase resides. A mainstream example of this is when Taylor Swift partnered with Spotify to secure electronic billboards in five cities around the world, each displaying a singular line from an unnamed song on Midnights. I have also seen many artists advertise their new album on “premiere panels,” which are smaller billboards that are almost half the price of a regular billboard. Pricing varies based on location, impressions, and size. For example, a premiere panel in Los Angeles could cost around $500 for four weeks. Clear Channel is the leader of these premier panels and can provide specific pricing based on your preferences.