How we test services

Every category we cover gets the same treatment: we set a fixed budget, pick a real song to promote (or a real catalog to distribute), and judge each service on five weighted criteria.

Spotify promotion

1. Safety — bot checks, listener retention, save rate after the campaign ends.
2. Placement quality — named curators, real listener counts on host playlists.
3. Transparency — clear reports, written feedback, named contacts.
4. Value — cost per qualified placement and per real follower gained.
5. Support — response time, willingness to issue credits when something goes wrong.

Music distribution

1. Royalty split — what percentage you keep, on every income stream.
2. Payout speed — how long after a stream you actually see the money.
3. Catalog tools — splits, ISRC, UPC, takedowns, Spotify Discovery Mode access.
4. Hidden fees — annual charges, take-down fees, withdrawal minimums.
5. Support quality — how fast a problem gets resolved.

Music promotion (everything else)

For TikTok creator campaigns, Meta ads, PR firms, and blog/radio pitching, we track conversion-grade metrics: cost per qualified listener, save rate on the destination platform, and whether the bump survives 30 days past the campaign. We don't care about vanity numbers.

Re-testing

Reviews get re-tested at least once a year, and within 30 days of any major platform change (pricing, algorithm, policy). The "last reviewed" date at the top of every article reflects the most recent re-test.