Spotify's ad options at a glance
| Marquee | Showcase | Ads Manager (Ad Studio) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What listeners see | A full-screen pop-up in the phone app | A banner on Home and Browse | Audio, video and display ads |
| Which music | A release under 21 days old | Any release | Anything |
| How you pay | Per click (saves count) | Per click (saves count) | Your budget |
| Budget | $100 to $10,000 | $100 to $10,000 | About 250 in local currency |
| Runs for | Up to 10 days | Up to 14 days | You choose |
| Who can use it | 1,000 streams and 5,000 active listeners in a market | 1,000 streams in a market | Anyone |
| Where | Spotify for Artists | Spotify for Artists | ads.spotify.com |
Marquee: a pop-up for your new release
Marquee puts your new release in front of listeners as a full-screen recommendation in the Spotify phone app.
- Only for new releases, and it has to start within 21 days of the release date.
- You need an audience already: 1,000 streams in the last 28 days and 5,000 monthly active listeners in the market you target.
- You pay per click, and Spotify counts saves as clicks. You're only charged for clicks that happen, so you may spend less than your budget.
- Budget from $100 to $10,000. You can't raise it after the campaign starts; you'd start a second one.
Showcase: a banner on Home, for any release
Showcase shows your release as a banner on the Home screen (phone and desktop) and in Browse (phone).
- Any release, any time, including your older songs.
- Easier to qualify for: 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in a target market.
- Same pricing as Marquee: per click, saves included, $100 to $10,000, and it runs for 14 days.
Both live under Campaigns in Spotify for Artists, in a list of supported countries (the US, Canada, Mexico, much of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia), and your payment card has to come from one of them.
Spotify Ads Manager (Ad Studio): ads for anyone
Spotify Ads Manager is Spotify's self-serve ad platform for any business, not just artists. Its help pages call it both Ads Manager and Ad Studio.
- Formats: audio, video, podcast, display and carousel ads.
- Targeting: age, gender, location and language, plus music genres, playlists, podcast topics and interests.
- Budget: Spotify's help pages give a campaign minimum of 250 in your local currency. Check the current number when you sign up.
- No streams needed. Unlike Marquee and Showcase, there's no audience threshold.
For a new artist, that minimum buys one campaign. The same money on Instagram can test several parts of a song for weeks.
Spotify ads or Instagram ads?
| Marquee and Showcase | Instagram (Meta) ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it reaches | People already on Spotify | Anyone, even people who don't know you |
| Best for | Pushing a release to your audience | Finding new listeners, and your best part |
| What you show | Your release and its artwork | A short video of any part of the song |
| Smallest test | $100 a campaign | $5 to $15 a day, for a week |
A simple order that works for many artists: use Instagram ads to find new listeners and to learn which part of the song hooks people, then, once you have the listeners Marquee asks for in a market, use Marquee on your next release there. Our guide to promoting a song with ads shows the Instagram side step by step.
One song in. An ad for every part.
By hand in an editor
Making 15 videos takes all evening.
Clips
Every part on every backdrop, in one export.
Questions
Is Spotify Ad Studio the same as Spotify Ads Manager?
Yes, it's the same self-serve ad platform. Spotify's own pages use both names.
How much does Marquee cost?
You set a budget between $100 and $10,000 and pay per click, with saves counted as clicks. The price of a click depends on your audience and market.
Who can use Marquee?
Artists with at least 1,000 streams in the last 28 days and 5,000 monthly active listeners in the market they target, for a release that's at most 21 days old.
Can I advertise my song on Spotify with a small budget?
Showcase starts at $100 and only needs 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in a market. Below that, Instagram ads at $5 to $15 a day are the cheaper way to start.
Do Spotify ads count as streams?
The ad itself isn't a stream. When people click through and play your song for at least 30 seconds, those plays count like any other.
Sources
- Getting started with display campaigns (Marquee and Showcase), Spotify for Artists
- Marquee and Showcase budgeting and payment and budget, Spotify for Artists
- Guide to Spotify Ads Manager and Get started, Spotify Advertising
- Getting started with Ad Studio, Spotify Advertising
- Fan Study: fan connection (a stream is 30 seconds or more), Spotify for Artists
Clips9 min read
