Spotify Ads for Artists: Marquee, Showcase,

Spotify sells artists three kinds of paid promotion: display campaigns (Marquee and Showcase) and Discovery Mode, both inside Spotify for Artists, and Spotify Ads Manager, the self-serve audio and video ad platform that used to be called Ad Studio and still exists. Marquee and Showcase need 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in a target market and cost $100 to $10,000 per campaign on a cost-per-click basis. Discovery Mode has no upfront cost but takes a 30% commission and needs 25,000 monthly listeners. Ads Manager has no stream threshold and starts at 250 in your local currency.

If you qualify for none of them, or you want to reach people who do not use Spotify yet, the realistic alternative is Meta (Instagram and Facebook) or YouTube ads that send listeners to your music on Spotify.

Every Spotify ad option for artists, compared

Option	What it is	Who can use it	Cost model	Best for
Marquee	Full-screen in-app recommendation for a new release	1,000 streams in 28 days and 5,000 monthly active listeners in the target market; release within 21 days	CPC, $100 to $10,000 per campaign	Release week, where you already have listeners
Showcase	Banner on Home and Browse, new or catalog	1,000 streams in 28 days in the target market	CPC, $100 to $10,000 per campaign	Catalog pushes, tour dates, a second wave after release
Discovery Mode	Raises the chance of selected songs in Radio, Autoplay and Mixes	25,000 monthly listeners, 3 eligible songs, a supported distributor	No upfront cost; 30% commission on recording royalties from those contexts	A proven catalog song you are willing to trade royalties on
Spotify Ads Manager	Self-serve audio and video ads to free-tier listeners	A Spotify advertiser account	Auction; minimum campaign budget of 250 in local currency	Reaching existing fans by genre or fan targeting, local show promotion
Meta or YouTube ads to Spotify	Ads on Instagram, Facebook or YouTube that link to your music	Set by Meta or Google	Set by Meta or Google	Reaching people outside the Spotify app

Spotify now groups Marquee, Showcase, Discovery Mode and playlist pitching under the name Campaign Kit, and calls Marquee and Showcase its display campaigns. (Spotify for Artists: Campaign Kit and Promoting music on Spotify.)

How much does it cost to promote music on Spotify?

There is no single price, because each product charges differently:

Marquee and Showcase: you set a budget between $100 and $10,000 USD (or the local-currency equivalent) and pay per click. Spotify counts saves as billable clicks, and the campaign never spends more than its budget. Booking Marquee through a Spotify local representative raises the minimum to $250. (Spotify: Forecasting and budget.)
Discovery Mode: nothing upfront. Spotify keeps 30% of the recording royalties from streams of the selected songs in Discovery Mode contexts. (Spotify: Using Discovery Mode.)
Spotify Ads Manager: an auction with daily or lifetime budgets and a choice of bidding. Spotify publishes no rate card, and the help centre sets a minimum campaign budget of 250.00 in your local currency. (Spotify Advertising: Pricing and Ad Studio overview.)

Spotify does not publish an average cost per click, cost per stream or cost per listener for any of these. For a wider view of promotion costs, including playlist pitching services, see how much Spotify promotion costs.

Marquee and Showcase

Both run from the Campaigns tab in Spotify for Artists and target listeners by their streaming behaviour: existing listeners, lapsed listeners, and people new to your music. (Spotify for Artists: Marquee and Showcase.)

Marquee is a full-screen recommendation in the Spotify mobile app for a new release. You must start it within 21 days of release, and it runs for up to 10 days or until the budget is spent.
Showcase is a banner on Home (desktop and mobile) and Browse (mobile). It works for new or catalog releases at any time and runs for up to 14 days or until the budget is spent.

Access needs 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in at least one target market. Marquee also needs 5,000 monthly active listeners in the selected target market, so many artists qualify for Showcase in a country before they qualify for Marquee there. (Spotify: Getting started with Marquee and Showcase.)

Billing markets. Your team's billing country, and the country that issued your payment card, must be one of: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom or the United States. (Spotify: Getting started with Marquee and Showcase.)

Since February 23, 2026, campaigns deliver over the full period, about 10 days (Marquee) or 14 days (Showcase) by default, with accelerated pacing still available. You cannot raise a budget once a campaign has started; you create another campaign instead. (Spotify: Forecasting and budget.)

For format-by-format detail, read Spotify Marquee vs Showcase; for the setup flow, read the Marquee campaign setup guide.

Discovery Mode

Discovery Mode is not an ad you see. It is a monthly opt-in for selected songs, set up in the Campaigns tab, and it is in beta, so not every artist team has access. (Spotify: Using Discovery Mode.) It applies in three listening contexts: Spotify Radio, Autoplay, and Spotify Mixes (Daily, Artist, Mood, Decade and Genre Mixes). (Spotify: Discovery Mode contexts.)

Eligibility. Spotify lists all of these (Spotify: Using Discovery Mode):

At least 3 eligible songs and at least 25,000 monthly listeners.
A Spotify for Artists team whose billing country is on Spotify's list of 110 supported countries.
Each song released at least 30 days ago, streamed at least 20 times in Discovery Mode contexts in the last 28 days, and monetization-eligible last month.
No associated artist carrying an AI Persona badge.
For self-releasing artists, the music must come through one of Spotify's listed licensors, which include DistroKid, CD Baby, UnitedMasters, LANDR, Amuse and Stem. Labels and distributors arrange access through their Spotify contact.

Cost. Spotify applies a 30% commission to recording royalties from streams of selected songs in Discovery Mode contexts. All other streams stay commission-free. On the affected streams, a 30% cut means you need about 43% more of them (1 ÷ 0.7 ≈ 1.43) just to match the royalties you would have earned without it. That is arithmetic, not a Spotify forecast.

Timing. You choose songs between the 11th and the last day of each month, and the campaign runs the following month.

Spotify Ads Manager

Yes, Spotify's self-serve ads still exist. Spotify for Artists now calls the product Spotify Ads Manager and describes it as audio and video ads for free-tier listeners; parts of the help centre still use the old name, Ad Studio. (Spotify: Promoting music on Spotify.)

What matters for artists:

Who hears it: free-tier listeners only. Premium subscribers do not get these ads.
Budget: campaigns need at least 250.00 in your local currency; pricing is an auction. (Spotify Advertising: Ad Studio overview and Pricing.)
Targeting: choosing a music promotion type unlocks fan targeting, which uses Spotify's streaming data to reach known fans. Your ad may feature only the artist or event you are promoting. (Spotify Advertising: Fan targeting.)
The limit that matters most: Spotify says it does not offer targeting of new listeners and suggests fan or genre targeting instead. (Spotify Advertising: Targeting new listeners.)

That makes Ads Manager a tool for reminding people who already listen to you, or to the genre, about a release or a local show. It is not built to find listeners who have never heard you.

The alternatives: Meta and YouTube ads pointed at Spotify

Most artists searching for "Spotify ads" are trying to get new people to play their music on Spotify. Spotify's own products either require an audience you already have (Marquee, Showcase, Discovery Mode) or cannot target new listeners (Ads Manager). That is why so much music promotion runs off Spotify:

Instagram and Facebook (Meta) ads can reach people who stream artists like you and send them, when they tap the ad, to your song on Spotify. See the Meta ads for Spotify guide.
YouTube ads run through Google Ads video campaigns and show your music video to people on YouTube who choose to watch.

Neither is a Spotify product, so neither places you inside the Spotify app. One workable sequence: off-Spotify ads to grow listeners in a country, then Showcase or Marquee there once you qualify.

Dynamoi (our service)

Dynamoi runs managed Instagram and Facebook campaigns that send listeners to your music on Spotify, and managed YouTube ad campaigns. Our team builds and runs the campaigns in Dynamoi's managed ad accounts, so you do not set up a Meta ad account, pixel or bidding. Every Spotify campaign includes a Smart Link, and we watch Smart Link clicks, saves, follows, and repeat listening to steer the budget. Starter is $25/month per artist, and your fee becomes ad credit. Eligible new artists get double credit the first month. No ad, ours included, can guarantee streams or algorithmic playlist placement.

Which option to use

Check eligibility by country first. For the country you want, check whether you have 1,000 streams in 28 days there (Showcase) and 5,000 monthly active listeners (Marquee). Eligibility is per market, not global.
New release, eligible for Marquee: Marquee in release week, Showcase afterwards.
Catalog song, eligible for Showcase: Showcase whenever the timing suits you.
25,000+ monthly listeners and a song that already performs in Radio and Autoplay: consider Discovery Mode, knowing it costs 30% of the royalties from those streams.
Not eligible yet, or you need new listeners: run Meta or YouTube ads that point to Spotify. Use Ads Manager only to reach existing fans or your genre's listeners on Spotify's free tier.

FAQ

Does Spotify still have Ad Studio?

Yes, under a new name. The self-serve platform is now Spotify Ads Manager, and some help-centre pages still say Ad Studio. It runs audio and video ads to free-tier listeners with a minimum campaign budget of 250 in local currency.

Can independent artists use Marquee and Showcase?

Yes, if your Spotify for Artists team bills from a supported country and you meet the stream threshold in a target market.

Do I need a minimum number of streams to run Spotify ads?

For Marquee and Showcase, yes: 1,000 streams in the last 28 days in a target market, plus 5,000 monthly active listeners there for Marquee. Discovery Mode needs 25,000 monthly listeners.

Is Discovery Mode worth it?

Only when the extra Radio, Autoplay and Mix plays are worth more to you than 30% of the royalties from those plays, for example when they lead to saves, follows and listening to the rest of your catalog.

Are Spotify ads better than Instagram ads for music?

They do different jobs. Spotify's display campaigns reach people already in the Spotify app who are likely to stream, but only after you have an audience in that market. Instagram and Facebook ads can find new listeners at any audience size and send them to Spotify. Compare them on cost per save or follow, not cost per click.

Sources and method

Last checked: 2026-10-16. Scope: Eligibility, cost models, budgets, billing markets and targeting rules for Spotify's artist ad products (Marquee, Showcase, Discovery Mode and Spotify Ads Manager), plus Dynamoi's own pricing and campaign scope. Method: Each Spotify fact was checked against Spotify for Artists help articles, Spotify for Artists product pages, and Spotify Advertising pricing and help-centre pages, linked beside it. Third-party summaries and vendor cost estimates were not used. Where Spotify publishes no number, the article says so instead of estimating one.

Spotify changes eligibility thresholds, markets and formats often; check the Campaigns tab in Spotify for Artists before you plan a budget.