Paid music marketing, explained by someone who runs it
How to run Meta ads to your music and actually know what you got for the money. Written from the buyer's seat, not an agency pitch.
How to Run Meta Ads for Spotify Streams (2026)
The full funnel for running Meta ads to a smartlink and tracking real conversions to Spotify.
Benchmark ranges for cost per Spotify conversion and what to do at each level.
What the pixel tracks, which event to optimize for, and the setup mistakes to avoid.
Why server-side tracking recovers conversions the browser pixel loses, explained plainly.
What to budget for a Spotify ad campaign and how to estimate what it buys.
What Is a Smart Link (and How to Actually Track Conversions)
What a smart link really is on VLVTN terms: one DSP-routing page built to track the conversion, not just a list of links.
How a DSP-routing smart link differs from a Linktree-style bio hub, and which job each one does.
Step by step on tracking a real Spotify conversion from a Meta ad: the click-out, the pixel, and the server event.
The five utm parameters in plain terms, what each one labels, and how to build a tagged link without breaking it.
The real reasons a Meta pixel under-reports and why server-side CAPI with event-ID dedup keeps the count honest.
Best Smart Link Tools for Musicians (2026)
A practitioner roundup of the main smart link tools, sorted by what they cost and how well they track the conversion.
Who Linkfire is really for, why its pricing fits labels over solo artists, and the indie-side alternative.
What Feature.fm is built around, and the indie-side alternative that ships the same server-side conversion tracking.
Four smart link tools side by side for an ads buyer, sorted on how each one tracks the conversion.