Opah analysed 11,992 Meta ads launched by 60 charting artists, finding recurring approaches to promotion. The study documents advertising choices but contains no spending, reach or performance data.
Its first annual report covers the 12 months ending October 18, 2026. The panel spans eight genres, drawing on Apple Music most-played lists in the US, UK, Nigeria and Mexico.
Artists include Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Karol G, Burna Boy, Doechii and Linkin Park. None is affiliated with Opah.
Where ads directed listeners
Of the 11,555 ads with a link, just 4% directed users straight to a streaming service. That share remained at or below 10% in every genre.
- 38% linked to tickets.
- 31% linked to pages listing multiple services.
- 10% linked to stores.
Destinations varied by genre. Electronic acts directed 74% of clicks to tickets. Rock acts kept 52% on a page they owned, a link page or a sign-up page, compared with 10% for electronic acts.
Most artists in the panel are signed and have tours and merchandise to promote. Tickets and stores together accounted for 48% of clicks.
How opening lines differed
Opah classified the opening lines of ads containing copy into seven categories. A date or show was the most frequent opener in seven of eight genres, accounting for 49% of Latin ads with copy, 45% of electronic and 44% of rock.
Rap was the exception: 45% opened without naming a date, release or sale, using a lyric, a comment about the song or a greeting instead.
Pop and Afrobeats had the highest shares of “out now” openings, at 29% and 27%. Merchandise appeared in the first line of 18% of pop ads and 19% of rhythm and blues (R&B) ads.
Latin was the only genre with a notable share of question-led openings, at 14%.
Creative batches and launch timing
The study grouped each artist’s ads by launch date. On days when an artist launched at least two ads, the typical batch contained four creatives.
Rap had the largest median batch, at six creatives, followed by pop at five. R&B had the smallest, at 3.5. Artists typically launched further ads one or two days later.
Video dominated, while still images ran longer
Video accounted for most ads in every genre, including 80% in country, 78% in rock and 76% in Afrobeats. R&B had the lowest video share, at 53%.
Single images represented 44% of R&B ads, compared with a third or less in every other genre. Carousels accounted for no more than 3% in any genre.
- Single images ran for a median of 10 days.
- Videos ran for a median of 8 days.
- Carousels ran for a median of 7 days.
For ads still active when examined, the study counted only the time elapsed by that point. Their recorded durations therefore represent minimums, rather than completed runs.
