Spotify Ads, Decoded: What Works, What Doesn’t

The products

• Ad Studio (ads.spotify.com)
  Audio/video ads to free-tier users only. Interest targeting once decent, now limited. Poor support. Results vary wildly.

• Marquee (new release pop-up; 21-day window)
  Shown to free + premium. Good for wake-ups when you’ve been quiet. Limited knobs (geo, audience buckets).

• Showcase (homepage banner)
  Can point to catalog or new. Useful for retargeting existing or passive listeners inside Spotify.

Why Ad Studio usually loses

• You’re buying attention from non-payers with lower listening time.

• Weak testing levers vs Meta/TikTok.

• Data is siloed. You can’t build cross-platform lookalikes or retarget stacks.

• Typical costs: $1–$3 per listener vs Meta $0.20–$0.80 per click-through with higher save/intent.

Where Marquee/Showcase do help

• Reactivation: Convert passive → active when you already have a listener base.

• Comeback singles: Make existing fans aware you’re back.

• Tour cycle nudges: Pair with city geos right before on-sale or show week.

Do not use them to find brand-new fans at scale. Cold performance is poor vs social ads with music-in-creative.

Recommended stack (artist or small label)

Cold growth = Social first

1. Meta Conversions → custom “Listen” event on your link page.

2. Creative = targeting: 15–30s vertical clips with audible hook in 0–2s.

3. Prospecting: Broad or 1 genre interest.

4. Retarget: 7/30/180-day engagers with social proof.

Warm reactivation = Spotify internal

• Add Marquee/Showcase only if:

  • ≥20k monthly listeners or large passive audience, and

  • You cap spend and measure lift (saves, SPV, repeat rate) vs baseline.

Email/SMS capture

• Always run a parallel gated download/early access to build owned lists. Use those for lookalikes later.

Budgets and levers

• Test order for $500–$2k release push:

  1. Meta prospecting + retargeting (70–85%)

  2. Showcase/Marquee retarget (15–30%) if you qualify

• Don’t put 4–5 figures into Marquee cold. Spread across creatives on Meta/TikTok instead.

KPIs to watch

• Meta prospecting: CPM $6–$18, CTR(link) 0.8%–2.5%, CPC(link) $0.20–$0.80, Landing→DSP 25%–45%.

• Marquee/Showcase retarget: Save+Playlist Add (“intent rate”) ≥15–20%, Repeat listeners ↑ vs prior 28 days, SPV stable or up.

• Cold Marquee: expect lower intent (often <15%). Don’t scale it.

Measurement cadence

• Before/after baselines: 14–28 days. Track monthly listeners, streams per listener, saves, followers.

• Holdout cities if you can.

• Attribute Meta by time-series lift and UTMs; attribute Showcase/Marquee by in-platform reports and the same time window.

Practical plays

Comeback single (dormant artist)

• Week -1 to +2: Meta prospecting; retarget IG/website; email first-listen.

• Day 0–14: Marquee to recent listeners + followers only. Small daily cap.

• Day 7: Swap creatives; drop live clip.

Tour market wake-up

• Meta geos 6–8 weeks out.

• Showcase retarget in those cities 10–3 days out to passive listeners; layer a ticket CTA in socials.

Catalog moment

• Meta clips of the hook + fan UGC.

• Showcase to past listeners of that track/album for 5–7 days to spike SPV and algorithmic radio.

Hard rules

• Never rely on Ad Studio as your core spend. Test $100–$300 max if curious. Kill if $ per listener > $1 or intent < 10%.

• Cap Marquee/Showcase unless retargeting lifts intent ≥15% and repeat rate rises.

• Creative refresh weekly. Targeting tweaks won’t fix bad hooks.

FAQ

Is Spotify Ad Studio ever worth it?
Rarely. Try small bursts only if you have a precise geo/moment. Expect higher cost and weaker intent.

Marquee vs Showcase?
Marquee = new-release popup window; tight time window. Showcase = homepage banner; works for catalog. Both best for warm audiences.

Can Meta beat Marquee?
Often yes on cost per engaged listener and save rate, because users hear the audio in the ad before they click.

What’s a good intent rate inside Spotify?
For Marquee/Showcase retargeting, 15–20%+ (saves + playlist adds) is solid. Cold usually underperforms.

Small budget plan?
$10–$20/day Meta Conversions with 4–6 creatives. Add a $10/day retargeting ad set after week 1. Only then test a $100–$300 Showcase to warm users.