Facebook Limits Links Unless You Pay: What Musicians, Venues & Music Marketers Need to Know
As Facebook limits links, learn its impact and some workarounds. Artists, venues, and music marketers scramble to promote shows, releases, and more.
Facebook Limits Links Unless You Pay: What Musicians, Venues & Music Marketers Need to Know
As first reported by TechCrunch, Meta is broadly testing limits on professional Facebook Pages and Professional Mode profiles to just two organic posts per month that include external links. This restriction applies unless the account subscribes to Meta Verified, Meta’s paid subscription program.
Accounts that upgrade to Meta Verified can bypass the link limit. They also receive a verification badge and added account protections. Prices for Verified, which include Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, range from $14.99 to $349.99 per month.
As Social Media Today notes, the experiment aligns with Meta’s growing emphasis on monetization and subscription-based access. Meanwhile, marketing firms like 24 Fingers confirmed that posts without links are not affected. This reinforces Meta’s preference for native content such as photos, videos, and Reels.
Implications for Artists and Venues
For years, Facebook has been a key channel for linking out to various platforms. These include ticketing platforms, artist websites, merch stores, streaming services, and press coverage. However, under this test, those outbound links are now heavily restricted unless you pay.
“Shake social media and online marketing to the core”
“The idea that Facebook could begin restricting us to posting two links a month unless we pay for verified status is going shake social media and online marketing for everyone to the core,” says music marketer Michael Bandvold, whose worked with the likes of W.A.S.P., Foghat and KISS. “This could really begin the push for businesses and artists to move away from Facebook to other platforms. As Facebook did by launching Threads to grab frustrated Twitter users, will other platforms step up and offer new and better alternatives?”
For artists and music venues, this change could directly impact ticket sales and fan communication. If you’re limited to two link posts per month, those links need to be used strategically. They should be reserved for major on-sale announcements, album launches, or high-priority campaigns.
Many musicians already struggle with declining organic reach. Restricting links further may push smaller artists and independent venues toward paid subscriptions or paid advertising. This is necessary just to maintain basic promotional effectiveness.
What Musicians & Music Marketers Can Do Now
First, rethink your Facebook content mix. Posts without links — including native video, carousels, event reminders, and storytelling updates — often perform better in feeds anyway.
Second, marketers are increasingly placing links in the first comment rather than the post itself and pinning it. While not guaranteed long-term, this workaround does not currently count toward the two-link limit and remains widely used.
Third, this is the latest reminder of the risks of over-reliance on any single platform. As social networks continue to restrict organic reach and monetize core features, artists and venues should prioritize owned channels like email lists, websites, Bandsintown, and SMS. This should be done alongside diversified social strategies.
Fourth, evaluate whether Meta Verified makes financial sense. For managers, promoters, and venues that rely heavily on Facebook traffic, the monthly fee may become a cost of doing business rather than a luxury.
A Bigger Warning
For the music industry, the message is clear: platform rules can change overnight — and the cost of visibility keeps rising.
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
“Facebook Limits Links Unless You Pay: What Musicians, Venues & Music Marketers Need to Know” first appeared on Hypebot.com.
