Ad Specs for Musicians

Ad specs for musicians provide the technical requirements needed to create compliant advertising materials. Having specifications on hand when preparing creative assets prevents common formatting errors and rejected submissions.

What Are Ad Specs

Ad specs, short for advertising specifications, detail the technical requirements for creative materials submitted to advertising platforms. Specifications cover image dimensions, video parameters, text limits, file formats, and size restrictions. Each platform publishes its own specs based on how ads display across their network.

For musicians managing their own advertising, knowing specs prevents wasted effort on non-compliant materials. Creating assets at correct dimensions from the start proves faster than reformatting rejected submissions. Specs also inform decisions about what creative to prioritize when resources are limited.

Specifications change periodically as platforms update their systems and introduce new placements. Checking current specs before major creative production ensures materials meet current requirements rather than outdated standards.

Common Ad Specs Across Platforms

Social media image ads typically work best at square (1:1) or vertical (4:5) aspect ratios. Standard dimensions include 1080x1080 pixels for square and 1080x1350 for 4:5 vertical. File formats include JPG and PNG with maximum sizes around 30MB. Text overlay should remain minimal, as platforms may limit reach for images with excessive text.

Social media video ads accommodate various aspect ratios: square (1:1) for feed placements, vertical (9:16) for stories and reels, landscape (16:9) for some placements. Duration limits vary by placement, ranging from 15 seconds for stories to 60 seconds or more for feed videos. Resolution should be at least 1080p with H.264 compression. Audio requires AAC encoding.

Display advertising uses standardized IAB sizes. The most common include 300x250 (medium rectangle), 728x90 (leaderboard), 320x50 (mobile banner), and 160x600 (wide skyscraper). Display networks on music websites, typically offering around $2.50 CPM, accept these standard formats. File formats include JPG, PNG, GIF, and HTML5 with size limits usually under 150KB for static and 200KB for animated.

Audio ads for streaming platforms generally require 15-30 second duration, 44.1kHz sample rate, stereo format, and MP3 or WAV file types. Loudness should target -16 LUFS for consistent playback alongside regular content.

Key Considerations

• Creating templates at standard specs streamlines ongoing creative production
• Multi-size asset creation enables broader placement availability
• Platform spec pages provide authoritative current requirements
• Testing creative previews before launch catches display issues

Common Questions

Which ad specs should musicians prioritize when starting out?

Musicians with limited resources should prioritize versatile specs that work across multiple placements. Square (1080x1080) images work on most social platforms. Medium rectangle (300x250) covers primary display advertising placements. A 15-30 second video at 1080x1080 resolution serves both social and some streaming placements. Starting with these core specs provides broad coverage before expanding to format-specific creative.

How do musicians handle different specs across platforms?

Managing multiple specs requires either creating separate assets for each platform or using design tools that export multiple sizes from single designs. Tools like Canva, Adobe Express, and Figma support multi-size export, reducing production time. Some advertisers create master designs at the largest needed size, then crop or reformat for smaller placements. Maintaining consistent branding elements across all sizes ensures recognition regardless of format.

Summary

Ad specs for musicians define the technical requirements for creating compliant advertising materials. Common specs include square and vertical images around 1080 pixels, 15-30 second videos at 1080p resolution, standard IAB display sizes, and audio ads at 44.1kHz stereo. Prioritizing versatile specs that work across platforms maximizes creative investment while enabling broad placement coverage.