The problem with Facebook ads for music [MUST READ]

Social media advertising was once the way of the future, but recent changes have thrown the industry into a tailspin that artists should avoid at all costs.

A guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix.

Everywhere you look, marketers are telling businesses and freelancers that social media advertising is the future. “Use Facebook ads,” they say. “Everyone is on Facebook!” After all, no other ad platform allows harnessing the power of the internet’s best tracking tools to promote the song you wrote in your childhood bedroom.

But if we’re being honest, we all know social media advertising is a lie. Advertising implies that the point of the message is to reach people who are otherwise unaware of your existence. Social media advertising does accomplish that, but its core purpose—at least on Facebook and Instagram—is to charge brands and creators for access to their fans.

On average, a post made from a Facebook page will reach slightly more than 5% of its total following. That percentage does not account for people outside the page’s following who may see the post, which can vary greatly depending on the engagement. If creators wish to reach the other 95%, Meta says you must pay for reach, and that’s the catch-22 that everyone in entertainment has been fighting against for over a decade.

Now, there’s a new monster on the horizon. As Music Biz host James Shotwell explains in this video, Facebook has an Apple problem. Recent updates to Apple’s security features have given users the ability to stop advertisers from tracking them, throwing the Facebook ad algorithm into a tailspin. As the company scrambles for solutions, its stock is plummeting, and anyone still advertising is finding their marketing spend reaches fewer people than ever.

James Shotwell is the Director of Customer Engagement at Haulix and host of the company’s podcast, Inside Music. He is also a public speaker known for promoting careers in the entertainment industry, as well as an entertainment journalist with over a decade of experience. His bylines include Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, Nu Sound, and Under The Gun Review, among other popular outlets.