Our ads-based approach to Spotify promotion shows your songs
to real people who are really interested in your music.
Customized ad campaigns that drive low costs-per-click.
Guaranteed engaged listeners (not just “organic streams”).
Consistent growth that boosts your algorithmic reach over time.
When your songs get streamed multiple times, saved, added to playlists, etc. – you’ll start “triggering the algorithm.”
That’s because Spotify, like all social platforms, wants to keep its users engaged by showing them things that it thinks they’ll like. So, when Spotify has data showing that songs or artists get high engagement, they’ll place them in playlists like Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, Release Radar… and on and on.
Bottom line: If people listen to and like your music on Spotify, then Spotify will show your music to more people.
Good streams lead to more good streams. The growth compounds.
But there a sad flip side of that, too.
That’s the challenge that all new artists face.
You’re up against inertia; Spotify doesn’t know what your music is like or who will like your music, so you’ll have a hard time getting any algorithmic love.
If you don’t push through it, your streams will stay low.
And, of course, there’s something even worse than having no data…
That’s the awful result of paying for poor-quality promotion.
If a bunch of accounts stream your song but don’t save it, then Spotify will assume your music is bad.
This can happen because you’re getting bot streams – but it can also happen if you’re included placements on playlists where your music isn’t a good fit.
If your song gets a high rate of skips (say, because it’s a chill track that was placed on a “Workout” playlist) – it’s game over for your future algorithmic growth.
Now, here’s the thing…
I’ve used over a dozen of them, and I’ve seen many campaigns that have driven great results.
I actually think it’s inarguable that good playlist pitching is the most cost-efficient way to drive streams, because you’re advertising on-platform and when you get on the right playlist, the growth can be crazy. That’s why, at Two Story Media, I’ve run plenty of playlisting campaigns myself – because playlists can work.
But playlisting always carries inherent risk.
Because even the best pitching companies can’t know how your song will perform on playlists. They can do their best to look for good fits, but they can’t guarantee that followers on a random list will really be interested in your song.
And if your song doesn’t perform well on a list… if it gets skips or a bunch of streams without saves…
You’ve just racked up a bunch of bad data and set yourself way back.
Again, if this happens to you, the best-case is that Spotify won’t show your music to people. And the worst-case (bot streams) is that you could get your song taken down.
If you don’t want to risk those things – but you also want to build your streaming numbers – well, I’ve got good news.
There’s a safer way to drive good data and get streams from real people who are literally guaranteed to be interested in your music…
Okay, time to get into some of the nuts and bolts of this…
We run Facebook and Instagram ads (almost always in Story-format) to drive real people to your songs on Spotify. These ads are guaranteed to generate engaged streams.
Here’s why:
People use playlists for background music. Even if your song is a great fit for “Relaxing Dinner Vibes,” users probably won’t interrupt conversation at the table to check which artist is being played.
Playlists drive streams, but often, they’re streams from people who are zoning out rather than actively looking for music.
Ads, on the other hand, require users to actively swipe or click through to Spotify for the express purpose of hearing your song.
They’re streaming with the purpose of engagement, not just putting your song on in the background.
Ad-jargon time (sorry)…
While we do start with broad audiences, over time, we’ll be able to do more than just show your music to people who might be vaguely-kind-of-interested in something close-ish to your genre.
We run campaigns that build custom audiences of people who engage with your music – then we can retarget those already-engaged listeners to get them to click through to your songs on Spotify.
Here’s what it looks like in practice.
(Pretty much right away)
We have a live, 30-minute consultation with you to get things running. Basically, we work to understand what your goals are, what your ideal audience is, and what we need to create to get your music in front of them.
(After our call)
We get access to any accounts we need and create any videos that we’ll use. Good news is that you don’t even need a music video or anything fancy – we put together the creative assets that’ll work best.
(First month)
We run targeted Facebook and Instagram Stories ads to drive engaged clicks. We use conversions ads to ensure healthy streams, and we “save” engaged viewers (people who watch / click) to your Facebook Audiences.
(Second half of first month)
We optimize your audience over time to get consistent growth on Spotify. The end result is that a bunch of new people / stream / save / love your music, so you have a steadily growing fanbase and good data for Spotify’s algorithm.
I recognize that all of this can be kind of confusing.
FAQs are here, and if you have more questions, feel free to reach out.
Here’s how we structure the costs of our campaigns.
Perfect for getting started. Results vary, but 1k – 2k+ streams per month is an expected range.
This is how much you'll pay Meta each month to get in front of people's eyes and ears.
This includes our initial consultation, assessing / creating needed accounts, and creating assets.
This includes building custom audiences, A/B testing campaign components, and delivering reports.
Total Cost Month 1… $697
Total Cost / Mo. After… $600
Perfect for consistent growth. Results vary, but 2k – 5k+ streams per month is an expected range.
This is how much you'll pay Meta each month to get in front of people's eyes and ears.
This includes our initial consultation, assessing / creating needed accounts, and creating assets.
This includes building custom audiences, A/B testing campaign components, and delivering reports.
Total Cost Month 1… $1400
Total Cost / Mo. After… $1200
Perfect for a rapid rise. Results vary, but 3k – 7k+ streams per month is an expected range.
This is how much you'll pay Meta each month to get in front of people's eyes and ears.
This includes our initial consultation, assessing / creating needed accounts, and creating assets.
This includes building custom audiences, A/B testing campaign components, and delivering reports.
Total Cost Month 1… $1600
Total Cost / Mo. After… $1500
🚀 Let’s do this. Enter your information below, and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Classic question.
The honest answer: We can’t say for sure.
The exact number of streams you’ll get will vary depending on the audience you’re targeting and the strength of your song.
But, two things we can say: 1) Over time, it’s likely that you’ll get more than 2 streams for every dollar spent. If you can’t beat that within three months, then ads may not be your best option for Spotify growth.
2) The streams you’ll get will always feed Spotify good data, because they’ll be from engaged listeners who are legitimately interested in your music. (Not going to rewrite the whole “ads are good” spiel here, but just scroll up if you want a recap of why this is the case.)
Well, it depends what kind of results you’re talking about.
We’ll start to drive streams in the first month.
In most cases, results start to really pick up in the second month, when we have enough data to get consistent results – and then get even better from there.
Also, generally, the more you spend, the faster the process goes, because we can rack up data and optimize more quickly.
For sure.
Most often, it’s wise to run things for at least a couple of months, so that campaigns can get optimized.
But you’re free to cancel whenever you want.
Kind of. But not really.
Here’s the thing – Spotify’s algorithm tends to favor newer tracks, so you may see better ancillary results with a newer release.
But ads can drive streams for any song, regardless of when it was released.
Honest answer? If you have the budget, you should do both.
Playlist pitching is the most cost-efficient way to get streams, but it carries inherent risk.
Ads are usually pricier (because you’re paying to get people from one platform to another), but they always provide engaged streams and good data.
If you have the budget, going with both options can give you the benefits of each while reducing risk – because even if you get on a bad playlist, your ads should feed Spotify enough good data that the damage won’t be too bad.
It’s kind of like investing. Having both ads (low-risk, steady growth) and playlisting (higher risk, high potential growth) in your portfolio is a nice balance.
Of course, let’s be real – most of us don’t have the budget to go heavy into both options.
So, if you have to pick one, it’s a matter of risk tolerance.
You need to have songs on Spotify, a Facebook page for your music, and an Instagram account.
That’s it, really. You don’t need a music video or even an Instagram account. (Although if you have those things, cool.) We’ll take care of everything else.
Ah yeah. (And props for asking this – gotta love iOS 14 questions.)
There’s a bunch of technical stuff involved in this, but long-story-short, we make sure you’re good to go.
We sure do. Once we’ve got your custom audience built, we’ll use it to create lookalike audiences and expand your reach.
I thought you might… this is kind of complicated stuff.
Shoot it over to jon at twostorymedia dot com.
🙌 Core Values: Depth // Joy // Connection
We believe music matters. We strive to build relationships that are ends in themselves, not just a means toward money. We also like Pittsburgh sports.
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