Paid Advertising for Musicians

Paid advertising can accelerate your growth, but it can also drain your budget if you do not know what you are doing. The platforms most effective for musicians are Meta (Instagram and Facebook ads), TikTok ads, and YouTube ads. Start small — 3 to 5 pounds per day — test aggressively, and only scale what is working. More artists waste money on paid ads than make money from them, because they skip the testing phase.

The most effective ad format for musicians is a short video clip (15 to 30 seconds) from your best piece of content. This could be a live performance clip, a studio recording moment, or a snippet of a music video. The content must hook the viewer in the first second and make them want to hear more. Use the track audio as the ad soundtrack. Direct the ad to Spotify (via a smart link) or to your YouTube video. Always include a clear call to action: listen now, watch the video, save the song.

Targeting is where most artists go wrong. Do not target broad demographics like "people aged 18 to 35 who like music." Target fans of specific artists similar to you, people who follow specific music blogs or playlists, and people who have engaged with your content previously (retargeting). On Meta, use the detailed targeting expansion to let the algorithm find people similar to your existing audience. Create a custom audience from your email list and a lookalike audience based on it.