Your ad spend should never exceed 25-30% of your projected revenue from a release or event. This keeps you from the treadmill of "paying to exist" that traps so many independent artists.

Here's my budgeting framework:

1. Set Your Revenue Target

For each project (single, EP, album, or tour), establish a clear revenue goal based on:

• Historical earnings from similar projects
• Current size and engagement rate of your audience
• Reasonable growth projections (20-30% maximum)

2. Apply the 25% Rule

Take your revenue target and multiply by 0.25—this is your maximum advertising budget. For example:

• If you're releasing a single that you project will generate $2,000 in streaming revenue, your ad budget should be $500 maximum.
• If you're planning a tour you expect to generate $10,000 in ticket and merch sales, your promotional budget should be $2,500 maximum.

3. Divide by Stage

Split your budget across the three critical phases of any project:

• Pre-launch (40%): Build anticipation and awareness
• Launch (40%): Drive immediate action during the critical first week
• Sustainability (20%): Extend the lifespan of the release or maintain momentum

4. Create Financial Triggers

Set clear performance benchmarks that must be met before releasing the next segment of your budget:

• If pre-launch ads aren't generating at least a 2:1 ratio of engagement to spend, pause and recalibrate before launch.
• If the launch phase isn't converting engagement to measurable action (streams, saves, tickets), reduce sustainability budget and reallocate.

Example: Single Release Budget Breakdown

For a single with $2,000 projected revenue:

• Total ad budget: $500 (25% of projected revenue)
• Pre-launch: $200 (40% of budget)
  
  • Platform focus: TikTok for discovery, Instagram for existing fans
  • Success metric: 400+ pre-saves before release day
    
• Launch: $200 (40% of budget)
  
  • Platform focus: Spotify for conversion, Instagram for awareness
  • Success metric: 25%+ save rate on new listeners
    
• Sustainability: $100 (20% of budget)
  
  • Platform focus: YouTube for longevity, retargeting on all platforms
  • Success metric: Sustained daily stream count above pre-promotion baseline

This framework prevents a huge push at release followed by a complete drop-off. The sustainability phase is often where the best ROI happens, as you're targeting warm audiences who've already shown interest.