Jacob Montague
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Jacob Montague

Spotify PlaylistingMeta AdsSinger-Songwriter / FolkIndependentSoloMale

How Jacob Montague turned discovery into repeat listening for Aquatic and his catalogue through an artist-owned playlist and targeted conversion ads.

Growth in super listeners
+116%
173 to 373 super listeners
Monthly listeners
32,802
Up from 24,809
Monthly active listeners
+1,257
5,079 to 6,336
Saves on album release day
436
Artist-wide on 25 June 2026

Audience comparison: 1–28 May 2026 vs 28 Jun–25 Jul 2026 · rolling 28-day audiences. Growth rounded to the nearest whole percent.

The Aquatic campaign

An audience that comes back.

Jacob Montague is a producer, multi-instrumentalist and cinematic folk composer whose music is built from organic textures, quiet detail and a sense of place. Also known for his work with The Macarons Project, he was preparing to release his instrumental album, Aquatic.

The aim was to strengthen Jacob’s core audience, increase meaningful engagement and support long-term discovery. A discovery playlist opened the door. Conversion ads introduced swell. By the album release, a more engaged audience was already listening.

Create a way in

01 Discovery starts with the right setting.

Indie Instrumental Focus playlist open in Spotify on a phone
The approach

Introduce a world of music.

We created Indie Instrumental Focus around several tracks from Jacob’s catalogue, placing them alongside established instrumental artists with a similar sound and atmosphere. Its premise was simple: “If your favorite indie folk band made an instrumental album.” Listeners could discover more than a single song, in a setting that already felt familiar.

Meta ads brought relevant listeners to the playlist, introducing Jacob’s catalogue to people likely to connect with its sound and atmosphere.

435Playlist saves in the campaign snapshot
567Playlist followers by 21 July 2026
Audience alignment

Designing for the right listener.

Chartmetric gave us a deeper look at the playlist’s visual identity and musical positioning. Audience alignment was built around these key moods.

This consistency helped listeners immediately understand the experience being offered. It strengthened the playlist’s ability to match Jacob’s work with people who shared similar listening preferences, going beyond genre to a deeper emotional connection.

Why it matters

The playlist gave new listeners a reason to stay, explore the catalogue and return.

Chartmetric · playlist identity

Top moods

43 moods represented

Playlist mood dot graphicDot layout from the Chartmetric snapshot. 43 moods represented, led by chill, melancholic, nostalgic, contemplative, meditative, dreamy and emotional.
  • Chill
  • Melancholic
  • Nostalgic
  • Contemplative
  • Meditative
  • Dreamy
  • Emotional
Indie Instrumental Focus · Chartmetric
Build towards the album

02 Give discovery somewhere to lead.

From swell to Aquatic

Familiarity before release day.

With listeners already exploring the catalogue, swell became the emotional bridge into the album. Researched audience groups and engaging ad creative shaped conversion ads that introduced the track to people likely to connect with its sound and atmosphere.

The campaign report recorded a 22.9% intent rate, reflecting listeners saving the track or adding it to playlists. That engagement gave the album a warmer audience to arrive to.

  1. swell

    The single introduces the album’s world.

  2. Aquatic

    The album arrives with an audience already engaged.

Turquoise underwater artwork for swell
Album release day: 25 June 2026

436 saves in a day.

Artist-wide saves recorded on album release day.

Turn listeners into fans

03 More listeners.
A deeper connection.

28 May — 25 July 2026

Audience growth

Super listeners: 373, up 116%.Super listeners on 25 July · up from 173 on 28 May
Daily audience, measured over the preceding 28 daysComparison windows: 1–28 May 2026 28 Jun–25 Jul 2026Spotify for Artists
View data
Daily audience · each date is the end of a rolling 28-day reporting window
DateMonthly listenersActive listenersSuper listeners
28 May 202624,8095,079173
29 May 202624,8865,156173
30 May 202624,8195,171175
31 May 202624,6995,161175
1 Jun 202625,5735,172179
2 Jun 202626,0105,206172
3 Jun 202626,6225,247173
4 Jun 202627,1945,279172
5 Jun 202627,6075,284177
6 Jun 202627,8505,320181
7 Jun 202628,0395,336183
8 Jun 202628,1815,332177
9 Jun 202628,5455,362183
10 Jun 202628,8705,370187
11 Jun 202629,0095,374184
12 Jun 202629,1795,375183
13 Jun 202629,3195,397179
14 Jun 202629,2965,390185
15 Jun 202629,1045,390192
16 Jun 202629,2495,420194
17 Jun 202629,6685,435198
18 Jun 202629,8465,463195
19 Jun 202630,0775,475202
20 Jun 202630,2895,477209
21 Jun 202630,3465,492207
22 Jun 202630,9135,529209
23 Jun 202631,3395,584211
24 Jun 202631,3835,594216
25 Jun 202631,4565,633235
26 Jun 202631,3145,662244
27 Jun 202631,2805,719249
28 Jun 202631,3875,778259
29 Jun 202631,3455,885272
30 Jun 202631,0555,963270
1 Jul 202630,8986,060277
2 Jul 202630,7776,139300
3 Jul 202630,7436,193307
4 Jul 202630,7466,244322
5 Jul 202630,8076,330328
6 Jul 202631,3196,426342
7 Jul 202632,0376,528359
8 Jul 202632,3126,633371
9 Jul 202632,2976,652377
10 Jul 202632,2816,653385
11 Jul 202632,3336,654391
12 Jul 202632,3856,638393
13 Jul 202632,9386,668394
14 Jul 202633,0546,651393
15 Jul 202632,9766,631397
16 Jul 202632,9796,615396
17 Jul 202632,9966,606405
18 Jul 202632,9126,589409
19 Jul 202632,9306,578406
20 Jul 202632,9996,586407
21 Jul 202632,9216,565405
22 Jul 202632,9566,568407
23 Jul 202632,8786,510398
24 Jul 202632,7856,409380
25 Jul 202632,8026,336373
The insight

The core audience grew with the reach.

Monthly listeners rose from 24,809 to 32,802. Alongside that wider reach, monthly active listeners increased by 1,257, and super listeners grew from 173 to 373.

Monthly active listeners represented around 19–20% of the audience at the two comparison points. More people were choosing to listen, with a larger group returning more deeply to the music.

Each date shows the preceding 28 days of listening. The active share describes the audience mix at each point.

Keep the music moving

04 The campaign ends.
The listening continues.

Streams
2,558
Listeners
254
Streams per listener
10.07
Three months after the campaign

A playlist with a life of its own.

Indie Instrumental Focus remained the strongest performer among the independent playlists shown in the 28-day report. Its listeners were returning to Jacob’s music well after paid promotion had stopped.

1 April — 18 July 2026

Daily streams by listening source

  • Personalised playlists, autoplay & mixes
  • Listeners’ own playlists & library
  • Artist profile & catalogue
Daily streams across the artist catalogue · three selected listening sourcesSpotify for Artists
View data
Daily catalogue streams · selected listening sources, not total artist streams
DatePersonalised playlists, autoplay & mixesListeners’ own playlists & libraryArtist profile & catalogue
1 Apr 20261,18338374
2 Apr 20261,01942648
3 Apr 202691241080
4 Apr 202666730690
5 Apr 2026618292167
6 Apr 20261,16540256
7 Apr 20261,52443485
8 Apr 20261,48041972
9 Apr 20261,02737044
10 Apr 2026881419141
11 Apr 2026841432174
12 Apr 202699931656
13 Apr 20261,79442487
14 Apr 20261,482428166
15 Apr 20261,829527235
16 Apr 20261,348461163
17 Apr 2026867434146
18 Apr 2026944366112
19 Apr 202694536439
20 Apr 20261,036421135
21 Apr 20261,203511100
22 Apr 20261,113492125
23 Apr 20261,217433121
24 Apr 20261,197426227
25 Apr 2026978384129
26 Apr 20261,027368158
27 Apr 20261,603530215
28 Apr 20261,538457140
29 Apr 20261,384494127
30 Apr 20261,281460152
1 May 20261,466378603
2 May 20261,38135885
3 May 20261,261357105
4 May 20261,423463148
5 May 20261,721465105
6 May 20261,128441160
7 May 2026835425211
8 May 202687037596
9 May 202679132335
10 May 202694733960
11 May 20261,797435180
12 May 20261,240498133
13 May 20261,426489179
14 May 20261,644439186
15 May 20261,30041347
16 May 20261,096362198
17 May 20261,258350214
18 May 20262,133399143
19 May 20261,672430191
20 May 20261,422481128
21 May 20261,184386239
22 May 20261,020427337
23 May 20261,06234444
24 May 20261,080360200
25 May 20261,138351120
26 May 20261,519416152
27 May 20261,39749079
28 May 20261,395450519
29 May 20261,501439308
30 May 20261,123333248
31 May 20261,063328144
1 Jun 20262,738385298
2 Jun 20262,364465420
3 Jun 20262,248470380
4 Jun 20261,850431228
5 Jun 20261,773402118
6 Jun 20261,407417181
7 Jun 20261,254344211
8 Jun 20261,712502164
9 Jun 20261,759526217
10 Jun 20262,175493364
11 Jun 20262,094443236
12 Jun 20261,906462142
13 Jun 20261,45434694
14 Jun 20261,28635599
15 Jun 20261,854447199
16 Jun 20262,329482352
17 Jun 20262,212492257
18 Jun 20261,797491203
19 Jun 20261,754448168
20 Jun 20261,442421174
21 Jun 20261,185350169
22 Jun 20262,304468204
23 Jun 20262,191495209
24 Jun 20261,575437153
25 Jun 20261,7674391,090
26 Jun 20261,4314931,197
27 Jun 20261,181410590
28 Jun 20261,366419556
29 Jun 20262,0915181,018
30 Jun 20261,757512829
1 Jul 20262,241523965
2 Jul 20262,373522917
3 Jul 20262,290497736
4 Jul 20261,7284011,125
5 Jul 20261,696440796
6 Jul 20262,5903911,140
7 Jul 20262,8705761,188
8 Jul 20262,3525691,291
9 Jul 20261,967520568
10 Jul 20261,842514787
11 Jul 20261,501481434
12 Jul 20261,518434329
13 Jul 20262,611500298
14 Jul 20262,189604400
15 Jul 20262,133527340
16 Jul 20261,905521532
17 Jul 20261,913524197
18 Jul 20261,492421219
Streams by discovery source

Algorithmic playlist streams

Streams · 28-day reporting windowSpotify for Artists
View data
Algorithmic discovery · 28-day reporting window
SourceStreamsListenersSongs
Radio34,63616,02310
Discover Weekly6,5963,6753
Mixes4,7572,59810
Daylist2,2901,63310
New paths into the catalogue

Discovery beyond the original ad.

Radio, Discover Weekly, Mixes and Daylist all brought listeners to Jacob’s music. Radio generated 34,636 streams from 16,023 listeners across ten tracks in the reported 28-day window.

A separate daily snapshot on 13 July shows 2,611 streams from personalised playlists, autoplay and mixes. The music was continuing to find listeners through Spotify’s recommendations.

The campaign aimed to turn that engagement into further discovery: reach relevant listeners, encourage repeat plays and saves, and create more opportunities for the catalogue to be recommended. The continued listening was consistent with that aim.

Inside the active audience

Depth of listening

5,854Active listeners
  • Super listeners5%
    314 listeners53.0 streams / listener
  • Moderate listeners26%
    1,550 listeners7.2 streams / listener
  • Light listeners68%
    3,990 listeners1.7 streams / listener
Separate monthly active audience snapshotSpotify for Artists · rounded shares total 99%
View data
Monthly active audience · separate snapshot, reporting dates unavailable
AudienceListenersReported shareStreams / listener
Super listeners3145%53.0
Moderate listeners1,55026%7.2
Light listeners3,99068%1.7
All active listeners5,854100%5.9
Beyond the first play

Different listeners.
Different depths of connection.

In the separate audience-depth snapshot, super listeners averaged 53 streams each. Moderate listeners averaged 7.2, while light listeners averaged 1.7.

Those figures show why audience quality matters. A relatively small group of deeply engaged fans can return to a catalogue many times.

This breakdown is a separate report of 5,854 monthly active listeners, including 314 super listeners.

Learn where to go next

05 Let the audience shape the next chapter.

A connection across borders

Active listeners by country

Active listeners as a percentage of each country’s listenersSpotify for Artists · audience snapshot
View data
Active audience by country · reporting dates unavailable
CountryListenersActive listeners
United States15,68821.1%
Germany1,25520%
United Kingdom2,13017.6%
France61617.2%
Australia1,55616.7%
Italy35915.9%
Canada2,05515.7%
The next opportunity

Know where listeners are leaning in.

The United States combined the largest listener count among the countries shown with the highest active share: 21.1%. Germany followed at 20%.

These were useful signals for future targeting: markets where a meaningful proportion of listeners were actively choosing Jacob’s music.

Percentages represent active listeners within each country, rather than each country’s share of the total audience.

The takeaway

Give the right people a way into the music, a reason to return, and something to look forward to.

Build beyond release day

Your next release.
A longer-lasting audience.

The playlist created context. swell gave listeners an emotional focal point, and Aquatic arrived after familiarity and momentum had begun to build.

For independent artists, the lesson is to make the catalogue, focus track and audience data work together: introduce listeners to a wider world of music, give them a reason to return, and use their listening behaviour to shape what comes next. That is how a campaign can support discovery beyond release day and after paid promotion ends. Let’s build a campaign around the people most likely to connect with your music. Before planning your next release, read our artist reviews to hear what working with Decent is like.

Plan your campaignExplore Meta ads

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