Artist Guide · 7 min read
How to Choose a Legit Music Promotion Company: 12 Questions to Ask Before You Pay
Anto Dotcom · Published October 1, 2026
Quick answer: Choose a music promotion company that explains exactly how it reaches listeners, puts scope and costs in writing, separates its fee from ad spend and creator fees, reports by source, and never guarantees streams, followers or playlist placements. Check case studies for starting points and timeframes, and make sure you keep ownership of your accounts and data. Walk away from anyone who guarantees results.
What you'll get:
- ✅ 12 questions to ask on the first call
- ✅ the red flags that mean it's a scam
- ✅ what the contract should say
- ✅ how to check results during the campaign
The questions first. Print them.
Contents
- 12 questions to ask
- How do I choose a legitimate music promotion company?
- What are the red flags in a music promotion company?
- What should the contract include?
- How to check results during the campaign
- Should you choose an agency, a platform or DIY?
- Comparing two quotes side by side
- Questions to ask past clients
- What a good written scope covers
- FAQ
12 questions to ask
| # | Question | ✅ Good answer | 🚩 Bad answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How exactly will you reach listeners? | Ads, pitching, creators, platform tools, named clearly | "Our network" and nothing more |
| 2 | Do you guarantee streams, followers or placements? | No | Yes |
| 3 | What's in the written scope? | Deliverables, timeline, reporting | No scope, just a package name |
| 4 | Which costs are separate? | Ad spend, creator fees, production, itemized | "All-in" with no breakdown |
| 5 | Who works on my campaign? | Named lead and specialists | Nobody named |
| 6 | How do you report? | By source, on a set schedule | Screenshots of totals |
| 7 | Can I see case studies with starting points? | Yes, with timeframe and context | Big numbers, no context |
| 8 | Who owns the ad accounts and data? | Defined in the contract, with client access | Unclear |
| 9 | How do you vet playlists or creators? | Real-audience checks | "They're all verified" |
| 10 | What if the timing is too short? | They'll say so, or suggest a smaller scope | Sell anything, any time |
| 11 | How are paid posts disclosed? | Labelled as ads or sponsored | "Nobody needs to know" |
| 12 | Will you tell me if I'm not a fit? | Yes | Never turns anyone down |
How do I choose a legitimate music promotion company?
To choose a legitimate music promotion company, ask how it reaches listeners, insist on a written scope with itemized costs, check case studies with starting points and timeframes, confirm source-level reporting and ownership of your data, and reject any guarantee of streams, followers or placements. Spotify advises researching any PR or marketing firm's methods before hiring.
What are the red flags in a music promotion company?
- 🚩 Guaranteed numbers. Spotify says any service guaranteeing streams, followers or playlist placement for money "is not legitimate and should be avoided" (Spotify for Artists).
- 🚩 Guaranteed editorial playlists. Only Spotify's editors decide those, and they're pitched free.
- 🚩 Cold outreach promising fast growth, especially through DMs.
- 🚩 Suspiciously cheap packages for huge numbers.
- 🚩 Asks for your Spotify or distributor login.
- 🚩 No company details: no address, no named people, no contract.
- 🚩 Undisclosed paid posts. In the US, the FTC expects material connections to be disclosed (FTC).
Spotify's own advice: talk to other artists who've used the service, and search for reports of artificial streaming (Spotify support).
What should the contract include?
- ✅ Scope: deliverables, channels, timeline and phases
- ✅ Fees vs. third-party costs: agency fee separate from ad spend, creator fees, production and travel
- ✅ Reporting: cadence, format and metrics agreed before launch
- ✅ People: account lead and specialists named
- ✅ Ownership: who owns ad accounts, creative, data and exports at the end
- ✅ No-guarantee language: what's promised is the work, not outcomes decided by platforms, editors or audiences
- ✅ Approvals: you approve spend, creative and messaging
That's the standard we hold ourselves to. See our MPT's pricing and process FAQ for how we handle scope, costs, data and reporting.
How to check results during the campaign
Don't wait for the final report. Check Spotify for Artists each week:
- 📈 Growth in saves, follows and monthly active listeners, not just streams
- 📍 Sensible geography. Watch for spikes from places you've never been active
- 🔎 Stream sources that match the campaign (ads, playlists, profile), not "Other"
- 📉 No spike-and-crash pattern
These are Spotify's own warning signs of artificial streaming. More in is Spotify promotion legit.
Should you choose an agency, a platform or DIY?
| Option | Best when | Budget |
|---|---|---|
| 🏆 Agency | Serious release, several channels, runway | MPT from $5,000 |
| 🧰 Self-serve platform | Testing songs, smaller budgets | Free to a few hundred dollars |
| ✍️ DIY | Early career, time rather than money | Your time |
- ✅ Agency: one plan across PR, DSPs and social, with named people accountable in writing
- ❌ Agency: highest cost, and a poor fit if the music or assets aren't ready
- ✅ Platform: cheap tests and quick feedback on a song
- ❌ Platform: access, not strategy; you still plan the release
- ✅ DIY: costs only time, and you build relationships you keep
- ❌ DIY: slow, and easy to pitch the wrong people without data
Still deciding? Read music promotion agency vs DIY and our comparison of the best music promotion services.
Comparing two quotes side by side
Put every quote into the same table before deciding:
| Line | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Agency or service fee | ||
| Ad spend (included or extra?) | ||
| Creator fees and usage rights | ||
| Production and assets | ||
| Duration and phases | ||
| Named team | ||
| Reporting cadence and metrics | ||
| Account and data ownership | ||
| Guarantee language |
A cheaper quote that leaves out ad spend or creator fees isn't cheaper. A quote that guarantees outcomes isn't safer.
Questions to ask past clients
If a company can connect you with past clients, ask them:
- Did the campaign match the written scope?
- Were costs outside the fee flagged in advance?
- Did reports show where results came from?
- How fast did the team respond during release week?
- Would you hire them again for the same goal?
What a good written scope covers
A scope doesn't need to be long, but it should answer:
- Objective: what the campaign is for, in one sentence
- Channels and deliverables: what will be done, and how much of it
- Timeline: phases and dates
- Team: who leads, who executes
- Fees: agency fee, separate from media, creator and production costs
- Approvals: what you sign off, and how fast
- Reporting: cadence, format and scorecard metrics
- Ownership: accounts, creative, data and handover at the end
- What's not guaranteed: outcomes decided by platforms, editors and audiences
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if a music promotion company is a scam?
It guarantees streams, followers or playlist placements, won't explain its methods, has no written scope, or asks for your logins. Spotify calls guaranteed-placement services scams.
Are music promotion companies worth it?
Legitimate ones can be, when you have a release with runway and a clear goal. They're not worth it if they rely on guarantees, or if your foundation (music, assets, profiles) isn't ready.
What should I ask a music marketing agency before hiring?
Ask how they reach listeners, what's in the scope, which costs are separate, who works on your campaign, how they report, who owns the data, and whether they guarantee results. The only acceptable answer to the last one is no.
Should a music promotion company guarantee results?
No. Platforms, editors, curators and audiences make their own decisions. A legitimate company guarantees the work and the reporting, not outcomes.
How can I check a company's past results?
Ask for case studies that show the starting point, timeframe, work performed and data source. Big numbers without context tell you little. Contact artists they've worked with if you can.
Ask us the same 12 questions
Put MPT through the same questions, because a company worth hiring should welcome them. Our MPT case studies and is MPT Agency real page are a good place to start.
About the author: Anto Dotcom is co-founder of MusicPromoToday (MPT Agency), which has run artist campaigns since 2012 from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal and Yerevan. About the MPT team · LinkedIn · Instagram