Facebook and Instagram ads remain the cheapest way to buy real music fans, if you run them right. Most artists burn money because they boost posts instead of building real campaigns.
Never boost. Use Ads Manager with a real objective: video views for awareness, conversions for merch and tickets. Boosting optimizes for likes, and likes pay nobody.
Target fans of similar artists, not broad demographics. A thousand fans of an artist like you beat a million random users. Interest targeting is the whole game.
Creative wins: fifteen-second vertical video of your best hook, with captions burned in. Test three variants and kill the losers fast. The algorithm rewards decisive advertisers.
Retarget everyone: video viewers, profile visitors, site visitors. The first ad introduces you; the retargeting ad converts them. Most sales happen on the follow-up.
Start at five dollars a day and scale only what works. Track cost per follower, per stream, per sale. If the math works at five dollars, it works at fifty.
Build a simple funnel instead of random ads: an awareness video first, then retargeting with the single, then retargeting with merch or tickets. Each stage moves people closer to spending. Funnels convert; scattered ads do not.
Learn the only metrics that matter: cost per follower, cost per stream, and return on ad spend. Vanity metrics like reach mean nothing. If the numbers work, scale up; if they don’t, fix the creative before spending another dollar.
Launch your first five-dollar-a-day test campaign this week with three creative variants. Let it run seven days, kill the losers, and scale the winner. That is the entire paid playbook.
About the Author – Ruben Burgos: Ruben Burgos brings over 25 years of music expertise and more than 15 years of model guidance to the table. He is the indie major pinnacle to retaining credits for musicians and helping them navigate this wicked industry without the fuckery.