What is Showcase and How Does it Work?
Showcase is a sponsored recommendation tool designed to empower artists to share their music – whether it's a fresh release, an old favourite, or anything in between – with potential listeners across Spotify. It manifests as a mobile banner prominently displayed at the top of Spotify's Home screen, the platform's most frequented space where billions of streams originate daily. Notably, users who encounter a Showcase banner are six times more likely to engage with the promoted release. This new tool offers artists the flexibility to run multiple campaigns for the same release, each tailored to specific goals and target markets. Whether spotlighting a single, EP, or album, it enables artists to reach diverse listener segments effectively.
When is the Best Time to Utilise Showcase?
The beauty of Showcase lies in its flexibility, allowing artists to promote their music at any time. Whether hyping up an upcoming release, celebrating an anniversary, or tapping into seasonal vibes, Showcase offers a range of headline options to provide context and engage listeners effectively.
Who Can Artists Reach with Showcase?
Showcase empowers artists to reach listeners across more than 30 markets, facilitating the expansion of their global fanbase. By default, campaigns target users who are likely to stream the promoted release, including existing fans and potential new listeners. Additionally, artists can target specific audience segments based on real streaming behaviours:
Active audience: These are valuable listeners who have intentionally streamed your music in the past 28 days from active sources like your artist profile, album and release pages, and their own library and playlists. This is divided into 3 segments, including Super Listeners, Moderate Listeners, and Light Listeners.
Previously active audience: Listeners who used to be in your active audience but haven’t intentionally streamed your music in at least 28 days. They may still stream your music from programmed sources.
Programmed audience: Listeners who only streamed your music from programmed sources like editorial playlists, Discover Weekly, Radio, Autoplay, or playlists by other listeners at least once in the last 2 years.
Potential audience: Listeners who aren't currently in your total audience. Based on their listening habits, they may stream your promoted release.
How Does Showcase Reporting Work?
Showcase provides comprehensive reporting metrics to help artists gauge the success of their campaigns. From measuring engagement with the promoted release to tracking audience growth and development, Showcase reports offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of promotional efforts with the following metrics:
- Amplified listeners: New listeners who streamed the promoted release after encountering the Showcase.
- Reactivated listeners: Previous fans who re-engage with the artist's music after seeing the Showcase.
- New active listeners: Users who become active listeners by streaming the promoted release for the first time.
Setting Up a Showcase Campaign
To run a Showcase campaign, artists must meet eligibility criteria, including a minimum threshold of 1,000 streams in the past 28 days in at least one target market. Campaign budgets start at $100 when booked via Spotify for Artists and will run until either the budget runs out or 14 days after your campaign starts, whichever comes first. Showcase is operated on a cost-per-click basis, ensuring that your money is only spent when people click on your campaign.
If you meet these criteria and have the relevant permissions on your S4A account, simply follow these steps to start your campaign:
- Access your Spotify for Artists dashboard on your desktop.
- Navigate to the Campaigns tab.
- Locate and click on the Showcase tab.
- Choose an eligible release for your campaign.
- Follow the provided instructions to configure your campaign settings.
- Once completed, you're all set to launch your campaign!
Best Practices
Showcase grants you the freedom to tailor your campaign according to your specific strategy by selecting the promoted content type, audience target, and headlines that align best with your objectives. Afterward, you can analyse your audience development metrics in the reporting section to track changes in your active audience stemming from your campaign. Here are some recommended approaches for leveraging Showcase based on your desired goals: