For: Releasing artists (RA) and label managers (LM) on a plan that includes Ads You'll need: A connected Meta account (for Instagram/Facebook ads) or a connected TikTok account, plus a budget you're comfortable spending Time: 10–15 minutes
Quick answer
Go to Ads → Create Ad, pick Meta Ads or TikTok Ads, choose a goal (promote a track, playlist, artist page, or Instagram profile), then walk through the wizard. Pick what to promote, write your ad copy, set your audience and budget, and review. When you're happy, click Launch — your campaign goes into review and starts running once approved.
Step-by-step
Open Ads from the side menu and click Create Ad.
Choose a platform:
Meta Ads — runs on Instagram (and optionally Facebook). Best for reaching broad, music-engaged audiences.
TikTok Ads — video-first format. Best for short clips and Gen Z / millennial audiences.
Choose a goal. The options depend on the platform:
Promote Track/Album — drive streams for a specific release.
Promote Playlist (Meta only) — grow followers for a Spotify playlist.
Promote Artist Page — grow your fanbase on your artist profile.
Promote Instagram Profile (Meta only) — get more profile visits and followers.
Pick what to promote. For tracks, you'll search your released catalog. For playlists or Instagram, you'll pick from accounts linked to your Meta connection.
Write your ad copy and pick or upload visuals. The wizard previews how it will look on each placement.
Set your audience — geography, age range, and interests. Defaults are music-friendly; tweak only if you have a specific audience in mind.
Set your budget and duration. Choose a daily budget or a total budget with an end date.
Review and launch. Your campaign goes to pending while Meta or TikTok reviews it (usually within a few hours), then moves to active.
Why it works this way
Each platform has different ad rules and creative formats, so the wizard tailors the questions to what you picked. Goals map to different campaign objectives behind the scenes — picking the right goal up front means Meta or TikTok optimizes for the action you actually care about. Drafts save as you go, so closing the tab doesn't lose your work; you'll see them on the Ads overview as draft cards.
Common problems
"Connect first" badge on the TikTok platform card — you need to connect TikTok in Settings → Integrations before you can pick it.
My track isn't showing up — only published releases are available to promote. If it's still pending, wait until it's live on Spotify.
Stuck in "pending" — Meta and TikTok review every new campaign. Most clear within a few hours, sometimes longer. If it sits for more than 48 hours, contact support.
Campaign got rejected — open the campaign detail page; the rejection reason is shown there. Most rejections are about ad copy or imagery — edit the draft and resubmit.