Facebook/Meta Ads After the Targeting Cut: A Practical Guide for Artists and Small Labels

TL;DR: Interest targeting got collapsed into broad genre buckets. Results don’t tank if you run clean signals, tight objectives, and creative that clearly telegraphs the sound. Let Meta’s optimization work. Feed it better data.

What changed

• Most individual artist interests disappeared. You get broad genre interests (e.g., Heavy Metal, Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop) or go fully broad.

• Advantage+ Detailed Targeting is effectively always on. Meta expands past your seed regardless.

• Impact: minimal if your objective, pixel/CAPI, and creatives are correct.

Account setup that still works

Objectives by goal

• Grow streams: Sales/Conversions → Website with a custom conversion on your link page “Listen” button (not Traffic).

• Sell tickets/merch: Sales/Conversions → Website with Purchase or Initiate Checkout.

• Grow email/SMS: Leads (native or to your form), or Sales/Conversions to a gated download.

Required signals

• Pixel + CAPI both on. Deduplicate.

• Aggregated Events prioritized: Purchase > Lead > ViewContent/Custom Listen.

• UTM tags on every link.

Audiences

• Prospecting:

  • Option A: Broad (no interests). Age 18–44, top markets + your touring geos.

  • Option B: 1–2 genre interests only (e.g., “Heavy metal” AND “Electronic music” for dubstep-metal).

• Lookalikes: 1–3% from buyers, email/SMS, 75% video viewers, site converters.

• Retargeting: 7/30/180-day stacks for site visitors, IG engagers, video viewers, email/SMS. Exclude buyers where selling.

Structure templates

• Streams / single push (low spend)

  • 1 campaign → 1–2 ad sets (Broad + Genre) → 3–6 ads (creative variants).

• Merch / tickets (mid spend)

  • Prospecting campaign (Broad/Genre + LALs).

  • Retargeting campaign (30/180-day stacks).

  • Creative rotation weekly.

Creative is the targeting now

Meta is optimizing off who reacts to the visual/audio in the first seconds. Make the cues obvious.

Creative spec

• Hook ≤2s. Lyric or riff enters immediately.

• 15–30s vertical (1080×1920) + square (1080×1080). Always add captions.

• On-frame clarity: Genre descriptor + CTA (“New single → Listen”).

• Identity cues: instruments, wardrobe, typography that match scene.

• Cut variants: performance, studio, crowd, meme-format, cover split-screen.

If visuals scream “pop” but the song is folk, CPM rises and CVR dies.

Targeting recipes by “weird” styles

• Dubstep-metal: Interest = Heavy metal AND Electronic music. Copy: “If Skrillex met Gojira.”

• Shoegaze/indie: Interest = Indie rock or Alternative rock. Visual: pedals, textures, live wall of sound.

• Folk death-metal (non-English): Start Broad + language. Geo = where your monthly listeners cluster. Visual: traditional motifs + scream moment in 2s.

Testing protocol (simple and fast)

1. Spin up 4–6 creatives against one Broad ad set.

2. Let first 1,500–3,000 impressions per ad before judging.

3. Kill losers quickly:

   • CTR (link) < 0.7%

   • CPC (link) > goal (streams: ~$0.25–$0.60; merch/tix: model-dependent)

   • CVR (landing→Spotify click or checkout) < 25% (streams) / <3% (purchase)

4. Duplicate winners into Genre and LAL ad sets.

5. Retarget with social proof + offer.

Benchmarks to sanity-check

• Prospecting CPM: $6–$18

• CTR (link): 0.8%–2.5%

• CPC (link): $0.20–$0.80 streams; $0.40–$1.50 sales

• Landing→DSP click: 25%–45%

• Retargeting ROAS: 2×–5× on small drops; presales can spike higher

If far outside, your creative or offer is misaligned. Targeting tweaks won’t save it.

Geo and budget

• Start with Tier-1 fan countries + known cities. Add tour markets 6–8 weeks pre-onsale.

• Budgets:

  • $10–$30/day test.

  • Scale ad sets that hold stable CPC/CVR as you 2× budget. If costs jump 30%+, revert and add fresh creative.

What to do this week

• Implement Pixel+CAPI and Aggregated Events.

• Create one custom “Listen” conversion on your link page.

• Launch 1 Broad and 1 Genre ad set with 4–6 creatives.

• Build 7/30/180-day retargeting.

• Set exclusions so prospecting doesn’t hit buyers/engagers.

• Rotate 2 new creatives every 7 days.

FAQs

Do I need interests anymore?
No. Broad works. A single genre interest can help steer cold start.

Will niche genres suffer?
Not if the visuals and audio hook match the niche and your geo is sensible.

Traffic vs Conversions for Spotify?
Use Conversions with a custom Listen event. Traffic optimizes for cheap clicks, not downstream actions.

Small budget plan?
One campaign, Broad ad set, 3–6 creatives, $10–$20/day. Add retargeting at $5/day once you have 1k+ engagers.

Lookalikes without buyers yet?
Use 75% video viewers or IG engaged. Replace with buyers/email later.

Should I separate IG Reels vs Feed?
No. Let placement auto-optimize. Only split if data shows a clear outlier.

How do I advertise a whole album?
Push one track as the spear. Retarget to the album. Split attention kills learning.