Spotify Showcase for artists can put a sponsored recommendation for your music on listeners’ Home screens. It can support a new release or a catalogue track, and you can run it at any time. That flexibility is useful, but it also makes it easy to spend before you have decided what the campaign needs to do.

Showcase is a paid tool, not a promise of streams, saves or long-term listeners. A stronger plan starts with seven practical checks. Work through them before you choose a headline or budget, then use the reporting to learn what actually happened.

1. Confirm that your team and release are eligible

First, open Spotify for Artists on the web and check the Campaigns tab. Spotify says an artist needs at least 1,000 streams during the previous 28 days in at least one target market to use Showcase. Your artist team must also be based in a supported country, and the payment card needs to have been issued there. The UK is among the supported markets.

Only an Admin or Editor can create the campaign. If the option is missing, check your access level and billing details before building the rest of the plan. Eligibility can differ between artists on the same roster, so confirm it inside the correct artist profile.

Check Spotify’s current display campaign eligibility rules

2. Choose Showcase for the right job

Spotify offers Showcase and Marquee as different display campaigns. Showcase can promote new or catalogue releases and runs for 14 days or until the budget is spent. Marquee is for eligible new releases and must start within 21 days of release. If your song is older, or you want to connect a track to a tour, video or seasonal moment, Showcase is usually the relevant option.

Do not choose a format only because it appears in your dashboard. Match the tool to the release and the timing. If you are still preparing a new release, our four-week music release timeline can help you organise the wider campaign before you add paid promotion.

Build your four-week music release plan

3. Pick one release with a reason to act now

A catalogue campaign still needs a current reason. You might have a new video, a live date, a fresh press mention or a song that fits a seasonal moment. Write that reason in one sentence before setting up the campaign. If you cannot explain why this release matters now, save the budget until the story is clearer.

Keep the rest of your activity aligned. Your social posts, profile pick and artist bio should make sense when a listener arrives. A sponsored recommendation may start the visit, but the music and profile have to do the convincing.

4. Set one audience goal

Decide whether you want to deepen engagement with existing listeners, bring recent listeners back, or introduce the release to people who may be a sensible fit. One campaign cannot answer every question at once. A clear audience goal makes the later report easier to understand.

  • Engagement: give current listeners a stronger reason to return to the release.
  • Reactivation: reconnect with people who listened before but have not returned recently.
  • Growth: test whether the release connects with potential new listeners.

Avoid changing the release, audience and message all at once if your budget is small. A focused test gives you a cleaner lesson, even when the result is modest.

5. Set a learning budget, not a hope budget

Spotify currently sets a minimum budget of $100 or the local equivalent for each sub-campaign. It charges on a cost-per-click basis, and you can create up to 15 sub-campaigns within one campaign. That does not mean you need 15. Start with an amount you can afford to treat as a test, without taking money from essentials such as recording, artwork or travel.

Before spending, write down the question the budget should answer. For example: does this recent single bring back listeners who already know us? A budget tied to a question is easier to review than a budget tied to a vague hope for more streams.

Read Spotify’s current campaign creation guidance

6. Check the headline and destination together

Showcase lets you choose a short headline and send listeners to a release destination. Treat those two choices as one promise. The headline should accurately describe the moment, while the destination should deliver the music a listener expects. Avoid claims such as ‘the next big hit’ or language that sounds guaranteed. Clear and specific is more useful than loud.

Preview the campaign before launch. Check the artist name, artwork, release and market. Ask someone else to read the headline if possible. A quick second look can catch the wrong version, an awkward phrase or a campaign that points to an album when the message is about one song.

Review Spotify’s display campaign customisation options

7. Review listener behaviour, not only clicks

A click shows that the recommendation attracted attention. It does not tell the whole story. After the campaign, compare the result with your original goal and look at what listeners did next. Did active listeners increase? Did people save the release, add it to playlists or explore more of your catalogue? Check the reporting window and avoid crediting every change to one paid placement.

Use Spotify for Artists data as evidence, not a scorecard for your worth. Our Spotify analytics guide explains how to read audience and song data without getting trapped by one headline number. If the campaign underperforms, record the audience, release, timing and message, then decide what you would change before spending again.

Learn how to read Spotify for Artists analytics

A simple pre-campaign checklist

  • Eligibility confirmed in the correct artist profile.
  • One release chosen with a clear reason to promote it now.
  • One audience goal written down.
  • Budget is affordable and tied to a learning question.
  • Headline and destination accurately match.
  • Profile, social posts and wider release plan are ready.
  • A date is set to review results and record the lesson.

Spotify Showcase for artists can be one useful part of a release plan, especially when you know why the music deserves fresh attention. Do the checks first, keep the test focused and judge the result against the goal you actually set. That gives every pound a clearer purpose, whether the answer is to repeat, adjust or stop.