Who this is for 01
A viral moment isn't a career.
Unless you understand why it happened.
You've had a hit or two. The streams and views are real. What you don't have yet is a clear picture of what's driving it — which hook is sticking, which content format is converting, whether your ad spend is actually doing anything or the algorithm just helped you that week.
Most artists at this stage boost posts and hope. We build a testing framework so you know exactly what's working before you scale anything.
You have
Some data. No framework.
Streams, views, followers — the numbers exist. What's missing is a system that tells you which content is converting versus which is just getting watched and scrolled past.
You need
A testing operation, not a campaign
Run 10 ad variations. Track which hook stops the scroll. Find the audience segment that's actually converting. Then kill the rest and double the winner.
You want
Ad spend that returns something measurable
Cost per stream, cost per follow, cost per save. You should know exactly what you're paying for attention — and whether the math makes sense to keep going.
Not yet
A full creative rebrand
Heavy creative direction comes when you know what's working. Right now you need data. When the data tells a story, the creative follows. That's Platinums.
Music Testing 02
Not every track is the single.
The data tells you which one is.
Before spending on a rollout, we test. We run controlled ad experiments across multiple songs, hooks, and clip formats to measure which generates the highest save rate, click-through, and stream conversion. The release strategy is built around that signal — not gut feel.
A 15-second snippet ad costs almost nothing to test. Knowing which song your audience responds to before committing to a rollout is worth everything.
Track / Hook Variant
Save Rate
CTR
Signal
Verse hook — 0:14 cut
Track A · "Still Here"
4.8%
3.2%
Scale
Chorus-first — 0:00 cut
Track A · "Still Here"
2.1%
1.8%
Test more
Drop-forward — 0:32 cut
Track B · "Dissolve"
2.9%
2.1%
Test more
Full verse — 0:00 cut
Track C · "Colour"
0.6%
0.4%
Cut
Example test output. Actual results logged in The Vault in real time.
What we test
Hook position, clip length, visual format
Same song, different entry points. Verse, chorus, drop, bridge. We find the 15 seconds that makes someone stop scrolling and hit save.
- Multiple snippet cuts per track
- Hook position A/B (0:00 vs 0:14 vs 0:30)
- Vertical vs square video format
- Text overlay on vs off
How we read it
Save rate, CTR, and cost-per-stream
Saves are the strongest signal — someone saved means they intended to come back. We weight saves higher than plays and use it to rank test winners before scaling.
- Save rate as primary signal
- Click-through to streaming link
- Cost per save, cost per stream
- Thumb-stop rate (3-second view %)
When we call it
Minimum spend threshold, then a decision
We don't let tests run indefinitely. Each variant gets a defined minimum spend to reach statistical relevance, then we call winners and losers and reallocate.
- Defined spend threshold per variant
- Weekly signal review
- Winner scales, losers cut immediately
The output
A single recommendation, not a report
At the end of testing, you get one answer: this is the track, this is the cut, this is the audience, this is the format. Build the rollout here. Not a 40-slide deck — a decision.
- Winning track and hook identified
- Audience segment mapped
- Format and creative direction confirmed
Ad Spend & ROI 03
You have budget.
You should know exactly what it's buying.
We manage ad campaigns across Meta, TikTok, and YouTube with one primary goal: return. Every campaign has a defined cost-per-result target. Every dollar spent is tracked against it. Nothing runs without a number to beat.
CPM
Cost per thousand
What you pay to reach 1,000 people. We track this daily — if it spikes, we adjust targeting or creative immediately.
CTR
Click-through rate
The percentage clicking through to your streaming link or profile. Below 1%? The creative isn't working.
CPS
Cost per save
Cost per stream
Our primary success metrics. If a save costs less than a defined threshold, we scale. If it's over, we test new creative.
ROAS
Return on ad spend
Overall return framed as revenue and growth relative to spend. Tracked monthly and used to inform next campaign budget.
Meta (Instagram + Facebook)
The highest-volume testing environment. Reel ads, Story ads, and in-feed video. Audience targeting by similar artist, genre, age, and behavior. Best platform for save rate data — the save button is native to the feed.
Primary
TikTok
In-feed video and Spark Ads boosting organic clips. Strongest platform for organic amplification when a video already has traction. We use paid to push videos that are already moving, not to force ones that aren't.
Amplifier
YouTube
Pre-roll and in-feed Discovery ads targeting genre and artist audiences. Used primarily for music video traffic and subscriber growth. Lower volume than Meta but higher intent — people on YouTube are already looking for music.
Intent
Retargeting
Re-engaging audiences who clicked but didn't convert, watched more than 50% of a video, or visited the profile without following. Retargeting spend is usually the most efficient dollar in the budget — these people already know who you are.
Efficiency
Content Volume 04
At this stage,
volume is the strategy.
Testing requires content. A lot of it. Different formats, different cuts, different hooks — all running simultaneously so you have enough data to make decisions. We build the content operation that makes that volume possible without burning out.
You don't need perfect content. You need enough varied content to find out what converts — then make that one thing better.
Format 01
Snippet clips
15–30 second music cuts in multiple formats — vertical, square, text-on, text-off. Built for feed testing. High volume, fast turnaround.
Format 02
Behind the scenes
Studio sessions, process content, day-in-the-life. Low production cost, high authenticity signal. Often outperforms polished creative at this stage.
Format 03
Reaction and commentary
Artist reacting to fan content, responding to comments, engaging with the moment. Native to TikTok and Reels — performs like organic, costs like paid.
Format 04
Text-based posts
Lyric cards, quote pulls, call-to-action posts. The cheapest content to produce and often underrated for save rate — people save text they connect with.
Format 05
Repurposed and remixed
One piece of content becomes five. A studio session becomes a reel, a TikTok, a lyric card, a Story, and a tweet. Efficiency over novelty at this volume.
Format 06
Creator-forwarded content
Content designed to be shared or dueted by creators without a formal paid arrangement. Low cost, high reach when it lands. We brief the format to maximize shareability.
Cadence
Daily posting. Weekly testing review.
We build a content calendar that runs at testing volume — enough posts per day to generate meaningful data within two weeks without burning the audience on repetition.
Production
We brief. You or your team shoots.
We don't produce content — we direct it. You or someone on your team captures the raw material. We give you the brief, the format spec, and the shot list. Speed beats perfection here.
Audience Intelligence 05
Who's actually listening.
Not who you think is.
Most artists assume they know their audience. The data usually says something different — different age range, different geography, different platform behavior. We read what's actually there and build the targeting strategy around the real audience, not the imagined one.
Demographic Discovery
Age, location, gender — from your actual data
We pull audience data from your ad accounts, streaming profiles, and social analytics and compare them. When they disagree, the ad account is usually telling the truth.
- Cross-platform demographic comparison
- Geographic cluster identification
- Gender and age breakdown per platform
- Time-of-day and day-of-week activity
Lookalike Building
Finding more people like your best fans
Once we identify which audience segment is converting — saving, clicking, streaming — we build lookalike audiences from that group. More people like the ones who already care.
- Seed audience built from converters, not all followers
- 1%, 2%, 5% lookalike layers tested
- Genre and interest-based targeting stacked
- Similar artist audiences as benchmark
Behavior Mapping
How they engage before they follow
The path from first impression to follow to save to stream. We map where people drop off and what content converts them at each stage. Then we fix the drop-off points first.
- Funnel: impression → profile visit → follow → stream
- Drop-off point identification
- Content-to-action mapping
Audience Segmentation
Not one audience. Several micro-audiences.
Your fans may span multiple distinct groups — different genres, different regions, different age ranges — all responding to different content. We identify each segment and serve them separately.
- Segment identification from ad data
- Per-segment content and creative strategy
- Budget allocated proportionally per segment performance
What we track 06
If it's not tracked,
it didn't happen.
Every metric that matters is logged daily inside The Vault. No waiting for weekly reports. No end-of-month surprises. You see the numbers when they move — and we flag anything that needs a decision immediately.
Save Rate
Percentage of people who save your content after seeing it. The strongest signal of genuine interest at this stage — a save means intent to return, not just passive consumption.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
How many people who see the ad click through to your streaming link or profile. Below 1% usually means the creative or hook isn't working. We adjust within 48 hours of seeing a trend.
Cost Per Save / Cost Per Stream
The core ROI metric. We set a target cost-per-save before the campaign launches. When actual CPS is under target, we scale spend. When it's over, we test new creative or cut the ad set.
Thumb-Stop Rate
The percentage of people who stop scrolling on your video after the first 3 seconds. The single most important indicator of whether the opening hook is working — everything else depends on this.
Follower Growth Rate
Net new followers per day across platforms, broken down by organic vs paid-attributed. We track this separately from vanity metrics — growth rate matters more than total count at this stage.
Audience Retention (Video)
Where in the video people drop off. If 70% of viewers leave at the 8-second mark, there's something wrong at the 8-second mark. We identify it, brief a fix, and retest.
Ad Spend Pacing
Daily spend vs budget plan. We monitor pacing in real time so the budget doesn't frontload, spike, or run out early. Steady, efficient spend consistently outperforms burst spending.
Content Performance by Format
Which content format — snippet, BTS, lyric card, reaction — is generating the most saves, follows, and clicks. We use this weekly to update the content brief and drop underperforming formats.
The Vault 07
Your data. Your campaigns.
All in one place. Live.
The Vault is where all campaign data, test results, creative assets, and communication with your BR team lives — encrypted, organized, and updated daily. No spreadsheet attachments. No chasing weekly reports.
BR Proprietary Platform
The Vault
Encrypted, owned by us, built for client transparency. Every metric from every campaign is live inside The Vault the moment it updates. Your manager can see it. You can see it. Nobody else can.
Live campaign dashboard
Every ad metric updated in real time — no waiting for platform export delays.
Test log & signal history
Every variant tested, every result recorded. Full audit trail of what was tried and what it returned.
Direct team messaging
No Slack. No email chains. All communication with your BR team inside The Vault — encrypted and on the record.
End-to-end encrypted
Your creative tests, ad strategy, and audience data stay inside. Zero third-party access.
Work with us 08
Essentials · Testing & ROI Retainer
Ready to find out
what actually works?
Tell us about your current numbers — what you've posted, what you've spent, and what you're trying to figure out. We'll take it from there.
Getting traction? Platinums is next →