How It Works

How IndieRocket works from artist setup to campaign launch

This is the clearest public walkthrough of the product. Start by loading at least one Spotify artist profile, then use that workspace to run campaigns, create content, publish share pages, and track performance.

1. Find your Spotify artist

Start by selecting the artist profile IndieRocket should use to build your workspace, import your catalog, and unlock analytics.

2. Load your release inputs

Bring in tracks, lyrics, release dates, links, and audio context so the product can generate targeting, content, and launch assets.

3. Launch campaigns and growth tools

Use your artist workspace to run Meta ads, publish smart links, build playlists, create visuals, and track what is actually working.

Find My Artist Jump to setup steps

IndieRocket needs at least one artist loaded before the app can build your workspace.

Getting Started

How do I get started with IndieRocket?

Go to indierocket.app and click Sign Up.
Create your account with email/password or Google sign-in. If you have a promo code, enter it now.
You'll land on your Dashboard with a 5-step Onboarding Checklist guiding you through setup.
A Release Onboarding modal will walk you through connecting Spotify, uploading lyrics, and running your first audio analysis.
Your Spotify discography imports automatically (takes up to 60 seconds). Once complete, you're ready to go.

What does the Onboarding Checklist cover?

The dashboard shows a 5-step progress bar. Each step links you directly to the right page:

Add your artist — Import your Spotify artist profile
Add your first track — Create a track profile with lyrics, release date, and metadata
Set up your landing page — Configure your public share page
Connect Facebook/Instagram — Link your Meta ad account (required for campaigns)
Explore your analytics — Visit the Analytics dashboard

The checklist auto-dismisses once all steps are complete, or you can dismiss it manually.

What's the recommended first steps after signing up?

Three things, in this order:

Connect your Spotify artist — Dashboard > "Add Artist" > search by name. This imports your entire discography, cover art, and streaming data.
Run an Audio Analysis — Select any track and run the AI analyzer. This powers ad targeting, content generation, video storyboards, and similar artist detection. Run it on every track for best results.
Connect your Meta (Facebook) account — Settings > Connect Facebook. This is a multi-step process (see Meta Ads Setup below) that unlocks the full Ads Manager.

Can I manage multiple artists?

Yes. Depending on your subscription tier, you can manage 1, 3, 5, or unlimited artists. Go to My Artists in the sidebar. Each artist has its own tracks, campaigns, analytics, ad account, and EPK.

What does the Dashboard show?

Artist selector — Switch between your artists
Track grid — All your tracks organized by album + standalone singles, each with status badges and action buttons
Onboarding checklist — Progressively reveals as you complete steps
Next Launch Date — Shows your release momentum (Recharging / Ideal Window / Overdue) based on days since last release
Growth metrics — Follower and popularity changes since your last release

What is the 'Next Launch Date' momentum tracker?

The dashboard calculates your release momentum based on days since your last release:

Recharging (under 30 days) — Too soon for next release, let the current one breathe
Ideal Window (30-60 days) — Perfect time to release new music
Overdue (60+ days) — Your momentum is dropping, release urgently

A visual progress bar shows where you are in the ideal 30-60 day release window.

Pre-Launch Workflow

What is IndieRocket's pre-launch workflow?

IndieRocket has a unique multi-stage release preparation system that no other platform offers. The idea is simple: do as much preparation as possible before your track goes live, so that on release day everything fires automatically.

Here's the recommended workflow:

As soon as you submit to your distributor — Create the track in IndieRocket manually. Set the track name, release date, and album. Upload lyrics immediately so the AI can analyze your song's themes, mood, and instrumentation.
When your distributor assigns codes — Add the ISRC number to the track profile. This is critical for chart attribution from day one. Also add the ISWC and UPC/EAN if available.
Enable the Pre-Save page — Check "Use IndieRocket Pre-Save Page" on the track. This generates a live page with a countdown timer where fans can sign up for release-day notifications. Share this link on social media.
Run the Audio Analysis — Upload your MP3 to the analyzer. This generates your sonic profile, similar artists, and mood data that powers everything downstream.
Generate social content — Use the Content Scheduler to create pre-release teaser posts across all platforms.
Add streaming links as they appear — As each platform generates your link (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), add them to the track profile. They'll be ready on the share page the moment you launch.

What are the track card status badges?

Each track card on your dashboard shows a real-time status badge based on where you are in the release lifecycle:

Stage	Badge	What it means
7+ days before release	Launches in X days	Track is queued, prep checklist not yet active
7 days before release	Pre-Release Checklist	Checklist appears with 3 critical items (see below)
Last 3 days	URGENT: Final Check!	Red alert with pulsing animation - finish all prep NOW
Release day	LAUNCH DAY!	Rocket animation - your track is live
First 72 hours	First 72 Hours!	Critical algorithmic window - promote heavily
4-28 days post-release	PUSH: X days left	Green badge - sustained promotion window
Beyond 28 days	Stale	Red indicator - time to plan your next release

What is the Pre-Release Checklist?

Starting 7 days before your release date, each track card shows a 3-item checklist with the critical tasks you must complete:

Sent Pitch to Spotify — Have you submitted your editorial playlist pitch via Spotify for Artists? IndieRocket links directly to the pitching portal.
Saved Canvas to Spotify — Have you uploaded your Spotify Canvas (looping video)? This needs to be done early so Spotify can process it before release.
ISRC Provided — Has the ISRC code from your distributor been added to your track profile? This enables accurate chart tracking from day one.

In the last 3 days, unchecked items show with red urgent warnings and pulsing animations to make sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Why are the first 72 hours so important?

The first 72 hours after release are when Spotify's algorithm decides how much to push your track. Early engagement signals (saves, adds to playlists, shares, repeat listens) directly influence whether your song gets picked up by Release Radar, Discover Weekly, and other algorithmic playlists.

That's why IndieRocket shows a special "First 72 Hours!" badge with pulsing animation — this is your window to promote as heavily as possible. After 72 hours, the window shifts to a 28-day sustained promotion period.

What is the Pre-Save page?

When you enable Pre-Save on an unreleased track, IndieRocket generates a public page with:

Real-time countdown timer — Days, hours, minutes, seconds until release. Updates every second.
Email capture form — Fans enter their email to be notified on release day.
Optional mailing list opt-in — Subscribers are automatically added to your artist mailing list.
Cover art display — Shows your track artwork.
Facebook Pixel tracking — Tracks pre-save submissions as Lead events for ad attribution.
Auto-redirect — When the countdown hits zero, the page automatically redirects to your full share page with streaming links.

What track metadata should I fill in early?

The more you fill in before release, the better. Here's what's available:

Track title and artist (required)
Release date — Triggers the countdown and pre-release checklist
Lyrics — Used by AI for content generation, Spotify pitches, and storyboard creation
Cover art — Displayed on share pages, pre-save pages, and ad creatives
ISRC / ISWC / UPC codes — For chart tracking and cross-platform matching
Streaming links — Add each platform's URL as they become available
Pre-Save URL — Use IndieRocket's built-in page or a custom URL

Spotify

How does the Spotify connection work?

IndieRocket connects to Spotify via OAuth (secure authorization). You never share your password. When you connect:

Your full discography is imported (albums, singles, EPs) with cover art
Popularity scores and follower counts are tracked daily via automated cron jobs
Streaming links across all platforms (Apple Music, Amazon, TIDAL, YouTube Music, Deezer, Bandcamp, Pandora) are auto-detected using your ISRC codes
Playlist appearances are discovered automatically (see Smart Playlists)

What data does IndieRocket pull from Spotify?

Data	How it's used
Artist profile (name, bio, genres, images)	Populates EPK, share pages, ad targeting
Full discography (albums, tracks, dates)	Dashboard track grid, campaign creation
Track popularity scores	Analytics trends, release momentum tracking
Follower count history	Growth tracking, release-over-release comparison
Cover art	Share pages, ad creatives, EPK
ISRC codes	Cross-platform streaming link matching
Playlist appearances	Discovery tracking, playlist analytics

How often does Spotify data update?

Popularity & followers: Daily automated sync
Play counts: Daily via background sync jobs
Playlist discovery: Periodic automated scans
Discography: On first connection, then on-demand via manual refresh

To force a refresh, click the sync button next to your artist name on the Dashboard.

Smart Playlists

What is the Smart Playlist strategy?

IndieRocket's virtual playlist system is a covert promotion technique designed to teach Spotify's recommendation algorithm to associate your music with established, similar artists.

Here's how it works: You create playlists that mix your tracks with tracks from similar, successful artists. When Spotify's algorithm sees your songs consistently appearing alongside these established artists, it learns the association. Over time, Spotify starts recommending your music to fans of those artists via Discover Weekly, Radio, and related artist suggestions.

This is something that would take hours of manual curation each week. IndieRocket automates the entire process.

How do I create a virtual playlist?

The creation wizard has three tabs:

General Settings — Name your playlist, add a description, optionally upload cover art, set track limit, and choose public/private visibility.
Mix Sources — Select tracked playlists as source pools and assign percentage weights to each. Example: "Indie Discovery (60%) + Chill Vibes (40%)". These weights control the mixing ratio — higher-weight playlists contribute more tracks.
Promote Your Tracks — Pin your own tracks to guarantee inclusion. Choose a force opener (which track plays first to hook listeners immediately). Your pinned tracks are distributed evenly throughout the playlist so they feel natural, not forced.

How does the mixing algorithm work?

IndieRocket uses a Weighted Fair Queuing (VFQ) algorithm — a sophisticated technique borrowed from network engineering — to create naturally balanced playlists:

Proportional representation — Source playlists contribute tracks proportional to their weight percentage
Artist separation — The algorithm prevents consecutive tracks from the same artist (avoids listener fatigue)
Recency bias — Newer playlist additions get priority, keeping the mix feeling fresh
Pinned track sprinkling — Your own tracks are distributed at even intervals (e.g., every 8 tracks in a 50-track playlist with 5 pinned tracks)
Discovery injection — Optionally pulls top tracks from random artists in your sources to broaden exposure

The result is a playlist that sounds like natural curation but is mathematically designed to maximize algorithmic association.

What is "Find More by Artist"?

When viewing a track in your playlist editor, click "Find More by Artist" to search Spotify for that artist's top 10 tracks. You can batch-select tracks to add to your manual pool. These manual additions get a higher source weight (0.8), ensuring they persist across playlist refreshes.

This is how you hand-pick which established artists you want Spotify to associate with your music.

How do I publish a playlist to Spotify?

Click Publish on any virtual playlist. IndieRocket:

Creates or updates the Spotify playlist
Syncs name, description, and cover art
Replaces all tracks with the freshly calculated mix order
Tracks follower count daily for analytics
Shows "In Sync" / "Out of Sync" status in the UI

What are Discovered Playlists?

IndieRocket runs automated daily scans to find playlists that already include your tracks. The Discovered tab shows each playlist with its name, curator, follower count, and a quick "Add to Library" button. This helps you identify curators who already support your music and add successful playlists to your auto-playlist sources.

What is the playlist blacklist for?

Blacklisted playlists are completely excluded from your auto-playlist sources, track calculations, and discovery tracking. Use it for:

Quality control — Remove spam or low-quality playlists
Algorithm isolation — Prevent playlists that don't fit your brand from influencing your mix (e.g., a "Sad Breakup Songs" playlist might dilute an electronic artist's targeting)

Meta Ads Setup

What is the full Meta Ads setup process?

Connecting Meta is not a one-click process. There are several steps that must be completed correctly for campaigns to work. Here's the complete chain:

Connect your Facebook account — Settings > Connect Facebook. This opens Meta's OAuth dialog where you grant IndieRocket access to your Pages, Ad Accounts, and Ads Insights.
Select your Ad Account — In the Ads Manager Setup Step, choose which Meta Ad Account to use. If you manage multiple artists, each can have their own ad account.
Select your Facebook Page — Choose which Page your ads will run from. This also resolves your connected Instagram Business account.
Select or create your Facebook Pixel — The Pixel is essential for tracking ad conversions. IndieRocket fetches available pixels from both your Business and Ad Account levels.
Configure the Pixel — This is the step most artists miss. You must whitelist indierocket.app in the Pixel's Traffic Permissions, accept the Custom Audience and Website Audience Terms of Service, and add your Ad Account to the Pixel's Connected Assets.

How do I configure my Facebook Pixel correctly?

IndieRocket includes a 5-tab Pixel Guide in the Ads Manager that walks you through each step:

Create Pixel — If you don't have one, go to Meta Events Manager and create a new Pixel.
Find your Pixel ID — Located in the Pixel's Settings tab in Events Manager.
Allow Domain — Critical: Go to Pixel Settings > Traffic Permissions and add indierocket.app to the Allow List. Without this, tracking won't work.
Verify Events — Accept the custom event "SmartLinkVisit" in Events Manager > Overview.
Set Permissions — Critical: In Business Settings > Data Sources > Pixels > Connected Assets, add your Ad Account to the Pixel. Then accept both the Custom Audience TOS and Website Audience TOS (links are provided in the guide).

If you skip the domain whitelisting or TOS acceptance, audience creation will fail with error code 2654 or 2664.

What audiences does IndieRocket create automatically?

Once your Pixel and Ad Account are properly configured, IndieRocket auto-creates two sets of audiences:

Traditional Campaigns:

Page Engagers (365 days) — People who engaged with your Facebook Page
Lookalike 1% — New audience similar to your Page Engagers

Advantage+ Campaigns:

Instagram Engagers (365 days) — People who engaged with your Instagram profile (requires connected IG)
Website Visitors (180 days) — People who visited your IndieRocket share pages (requires working Pixel)
Lookalike 1% — New audience similar to your website visitors

These audiences improve ad targeting by leveraging your existing fan engagement data.

How often do I need to reconnect Facebook?

Your Meta access token lasts approximately 60 days. IndieRocket automatically attempts to refresh tokens within 7 days of expiry. If the token does expire:

Your campaigns keep running on Meta — they won't stop
But IndieRocket can't read analytics, optimize campaigns, or make changes until you reconnect
You'll see a warning banner in the Ads Manager
To fix: Settings > Reconnect Facebook

What are the common Meta setup errors?

Error	Cause	Fix
Code 2654: Permission Error	Pixel not connected to Ad Account	Business Settings > Data Sources > Pixels > Connected Assets > Add your Ad Account
Code 2664: TOS not accepted	Custom Audience Terms not accepted	Visit the Custom Audience TOS and Website Audience TOS links in the Pixel Guide
Domain not in Allow List	indierocket.app not whitelisted	Events Manager > Pixel Settings > Traffic Permissions > Add indierocket.app
Token expired	Meta token older than 60 days	Settings > Reconnect Facebook
Ad Account Limit	Over 250 active ads	Delete old campaigns or use a different ad account
No Facebook Page	Page not selected during OAuth	Settings > Reconnect Facebook, select correct page

Campaigns & Ads

How do I create my first ad campaign?

Before creating a campaign, make sure you've completed the full Meta setup (Ad Account, Page, Pixel, TOS). Then:

Select a Track — Choose which song to promote. Tracks with audio analysis get better targeting suggestions.
Define Your Audience — Set countries, age range, interests, and demographics. IndieRocket suggests interests based on your audio analysis and similar artists.
Set Budget & Schedule — Choose daily or lifetime budget, start/end dates, and optional auto-scaling (budget increases up to 20% per cycle).
Create Your Ad Copy — AI generates three styles: Hook (curiosity-based), Vibe (emotional connection), and Social Proof (similar artist angle). Edit or write your own.
Add Visuals — Use album cover, upload custom image/video, generate AI image, or create in the Visual Creator.
Configure Placements — Choose where ads appear (Instagram Feed/Stories/Reels, Facebook Feed/Stories, Audience Network).
Review & Launch — IndieRocket validates your setup (ad account limits, budget safety, permissions) then deploys to Meta within minutes.

What safety checks happen at launch?

IndieRocket validates several things before deploying your campaign:

Ad Account limit check — Verifies you won't exceed Meta's 250-ad limit
Budget safety mechanism — After creating the campaign on Meta, IndieRocket verifies the actual daily budget matches what was requested. If there's a mismatch, the campaign is immediately deleted to prevent overspend.
Token validation — Confirms your Meta token is still valid
Pixel verification — Ensures pixel is configured and accessible
Interest verification — Confirms at least one targeting interest is valid

What does 'Learning Phase' mean?

When a new campaign launches, Meta's algorithm enters a Learning Phase where it figures out the best audience. IndieRocket calculates a budget-aware learning period:

Low-budget campaigns (e.g. £5/day with 10 ads) get ~96-108 hours of protection
High-budget campaigns (e.g. £50/day with 10 ads) get ~53 hours
First campaigns get an extra 12 hours (artists are new to the platform)
Maximum cap: 168 hours (7 days)

During learning phase, IndieRocket skips ALL optimization to let Meta's algorithm settle. Do not turn off ads during this period.

What does 'Archived' mean for a campaign?

Archived campaigns are soft-deleted — hidden from your main view but not removed from Meta. You can toggle the archive filter to see them. Historical analytics are preserved.

Smart Optimizer

What makes IndieRocket's optimizer different from running ads yourself?

If you run Meta ads manually, you get none of this. IndieRocket runs a daily multi-layered optimization cycle with 15+ decision trees that would take a professional media buyer hours to replicate:

Autonomous bot filtration — Filters out 10-30% of click fraud (Facebook crawlers, bots, duplicate requests)
Zero-delay first-party tracking — Real-time attribution vs Meta's 24-48 hour Pixel delay
Context-aware learning protection — Budget and ad count determine protection windows
Unicorn detection — Identifies ads performing 40% better than the best competitor, then focuses entire budget on them
Interest memory — Remembers which audience interests work across campaigns
Placement tuning — Auto-disables specific placements bleeding budget
3-level stuck recovery — Escalating intervention for stalled campaigns
Safe budget scaling — Graduated increases that respect Meta's algorithm constraints

How does Zombie Cleanup work?

After 48 hours, IndieRocket classifies underperforming ads into three zombie categories:

True Zombie — 0 impressions (Meta has completely abandoned the ad)
Low Volume Zombie — Under 20 impressions after 72 hours AND 0 clicks
Ignored Zombie — 100+ impressions but 0 clicks (shown to people but completely ignored)

Zombies are paused immediately, but IndieRocket maintains minimum ad counts per campaign to prevent killing everything:

£15/day or less: Keep at least 2 active ads
£15-40/day: Keep at least 4 active ads
Over £40/day: Keep at least 6 active ads

What is Unicorn Detection?

A "Unicorn" is an ad that's performing 40% cheaper than the best competitor in other ad sets. When IndieRocket detects one:

The ad must have at least 10 results and £20 spend to qualify
A 24-hour confirmation period prevents false positives
Once confirmed, IndieRocket executes a Kingdom Purge — pausing ALL other ad sets in the campaign
Then an Arena Purge — pausing sibling ads in the winning ad set
Result: 100% of your campaign budget focused on the proven winner

How does 7-Day Consolidation work?

After 7 days of data, IndieRocket trims your campaign down to only the top performers:

Per-ad-set ranking — Ads sorted by results. Only the top 2 performers with CPR under 2x the average are kept.
Cross-ad-set enforcement — If kept ads still exceed budget limits, they're ranked globally and cut to fit.
Budget-aware limits — Under £15/day: max 3 ads. £15-40/day: max 5. Over £40/day: max 8.

Good paused ads can be revived during consolidation if they outperform what's currently active.

How does Dynamic Push (smart scaling) work?

When your campaign is performing consistently well, Dynamic Push increases your budget automatically:

Readiness criteria: Campaign age 7+ days, 3+ ads out of learning phase, 100+ total results, Dynamic Push enabled
Graduated scaling: Small deltas jump immediately; larger deltas increase by 1/3 to 1/5 per day
Health check: If CPR or CPC exceeds 1.2x account average, scaling pauses until performance improves
7-day rule: Never increases budget more than 20% per cycle to avoid resetting Meta's learning

What is Stuck Recovery?

If a campaign is spending budget but getting zero impressions or results, IndieRocket escalates through three recovery levels:

Level 1 — Bump budget by 1p (£0.01) to signal Meta to re-evaluate
Level 2 — Pause campaign, wait 2 seconds, resume (forces Meta to restart delivery)
Level 3 — Clone the entire campaign (all ads, ad sets, budgets) and delete the original. This is the nuclear option, but it preserves all your creative work.

How does bot detection protect my budget?

IndieRocket uses multi-layer first-party bot detection on every smart link visit:

IP-based blocking — Known Facebook crawler IP ranges are filtered out
User Agent analysis — Blocks bots, crawlers, scrapers, and platform prefetch agents (Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, etc.)
Smart Google UA handling — Distinguishes real ad clicks through Firebase hosting proxy from Google crawlers
Visit deduplication — 30-second TTL prevents duplicate tracking from Meta's crawler burst pattern
Outbound deduplication — 10-second TTL prevents counting the same click twice

What is Interest Memory?

IndieRocket remembers which targeting interests perform well across all your campaigns. For each interest, it tracks total spend, total results, and number of campaigns tried. This means when you create a new campaign, you can see which interests have historically worked for your music.

Content Creation

What content creation tools does IndieRocket offer?

Content Scheduler — AI-generated social media captions with platform-specific formatting, tone selection, and best time to post recommendations
Visual Creator — AI storyboard generation + Remotion-based video editor with lyric sync
Ad Copy Generator — Three-style ad copy (Hook, Vibe, Social Proof) for campaigns
Spotify Pitch Generator — AI-crafted curator pitches with iterative refinement
Image Generator — AI visuals based on your track's audio analysis
Bio Generator — AI-powered short bio creation with 3 alternative suggestions

How does the Spotify Pitch Generator work?

The pitch tool creates professional curator pitches for unreleased tracks:

Select an unreleased track
Add your artist story, achievements, and context
AI generates a 300-500 word pitch narrative using your audio analysis (mood, instrumentation, themes), lyrical analysis, and streaming milestones
Refine through conversation — Give feedback like "Make it more vulnerable" or "Emphasize the collaboration" and the AI regenerates with your direction
Copy the final pitch and submit to Spotify for Artists

Requires an active subscription with Spotify Pitching access.

Does IndieRocket post automatically to social media?

No. IndieRocket is a planning and creation tool, not an auto-poster. You generate content, schedule it on your calendar, and then copy/paste to each platform. This keeps you in control of your voice and lets you make last-minute tweaks.

Visual Creator

What is the Visual Creator?

A browser-based video editor powered by Remotion with AI storyboard generation. It has two modes:

Storyboard Mode — AI reads your lyrics and audio analysis to generate a multi-scene visual concept
Designer Canvas — Drag-and-drop timeline editor with real-time preview, audio waveform sync, and precise composition control

All video rendering happens entirely in your browser — no server processing, no waiting in queues.

How does AI storyboard generation work?

Choose intent — Album cover, promotional poster, video concept, or one-shot idea
Select creative style — 15+ options including Cinematic Realism, Vintage Analog, Minimalist Conceptual, Surrealism, Street Photography, Afrofuturism, Solarpunk, Gothic Noir, Vaporwave, Cyberpunk, and more
Configure scenes — Choose narrative style (direct vs symbolic), scene count, and structure (varied, climactic, episodic)
Generate — AI produces visual prompts for each scene based on your lyrics, mood, and instrumentation
Refine — Edit prompts, regenerate individual scenes, or add custom instructions

What video features does the Designer Canvas have?

Lyrics overlay modes — Karaoke (progressive highlight), Pop (bold modern), Subtitles (movie-style), Glow (luminous), Bounce (animated word entrance)
Audio transcription — AI transcribes your track with word-level timing for precise lyric sync
Stock video integration — AI generates search queries from your track analysis, one-click add from stock footage libraries
Cover art overlay — Drag-and-drop positioning with scale and opacity controls
Outro/CTA section — Customizable "Stream Now" button with platform links
Export formats — 9:16 (Stories/Reels/TikTok), 16:9 (YouTube), 1:1 (Feed posts)
Session save/load — Persistent storyboard storage for ongoing editing

Audio Analyzer

What does the Audio Analyzer do?

The Audio Analyzer uses AI to create a complete sonic profile of your track:

Primary & secondary genres
Mood & feel (emotional character, energy, atmosphere)
Instrumentation (every instrument and production element detected)
Similar artists (artists with a matching sound)
Lyrical themes (narrative, meaning, key topics)
Song synopsis (cached for Spotify pitches and press materials)
BPM, key signature, time signature

Why is the Audio Analysis so important?

The analysis is the foundation of almost every smart feature in IndieRocket. Here's what it powers:

Feature	How analysis is used
Ad targeting	Suggests audience interests based on similar artists and genres
Content Scheduler	AI captions reference your track's mood, themes, and instrumentation
Spotify Pitch	Pitch narratives incorporate sonic analysis and mood descriptions
Visual Creator	Storyboards generated from lyrics + mood + instrumentation
Image generation	AI visuals match your song's aesthetic and emotional character
Stock video search	AI generates search queries based on your track's vibe
EPK Sound Profile	Displays "Sonic Identity" and "For Fans Of" on your EPK
Share pages	Shows AI-generated song meaning and analysis on public pages

Run it on every track for the best results across all features.

What's the difference between free and paid analysis?

Free tier: Analysis based on Spotify's 30-second preview clip only
Paid tier: Upload your full MP3 for comprehensive analysis of the entire track

Analytics

What analytics does IndieRocket provide?

Metric	Source	Frequency
Track popularity	Spotify API	Daily
Follower count	Spotify API	Daily
Play counts	Background sync	Daily
Playlist placements	Discovery scans	Periodic
Ad spend & impressions	Meta API	Hourly
Link clicks	First-party pixel	Real-time
Geographic distribution	Meta + Spotify	Daily
Device breakdown	First-party tracking	Real-time
Mailing list signups	Pre-save + share pages	Real-time

What unique analytics features does IndieRocket have?

Popularity tier classification — Tracks are rated: Emerging (0-19), Developing (20-29), Established (30-39), Rising (40-49), Prominent (50-59), Major (60-100)
Release comparison — Side-by-side metrics between your last two releases (followers, popularity, play count deltas)
Top ads performance — Which ad creatives drive the most traffic, with thumbnail previews and video embeds
Platform distribution — Which streaming services your fans prefer (Spotify vs Apple Music vs YouTube Music, etc.)
Geographic arbitrage — Country-level listener distribution to identify where your music is gaining traction
Best time to post — Real-time hourly audience activity scores per platform, based on Meta's engagement data
Impact chart — Visualizes peak performance periods and identifies successful playlist placements vs organic growth

Can I export my mailing list?

Yes. Go to Audience > Mailing List. Subscribers are searchable and exportable as CSV with email, subscription date, and source track. Use this for external email marketing tools.

EPK Builder

What makes IndieRocket's EPK Builder special?

IndieRocket's EPK is one of the most comprehensive press kit builders available for independent artists. It's not just a bio page — it's a full professional portfolio with:

Unlimited configurations — Create different EPKs for venues, press, labels, and booking agents
Interactive stage plot designer — Drag-and-drop equipment placement with 10 item types
Professional input list / patch sheet — Channel-by-channel audio requirements
AI-powered bio generation — 3 alternative bio suggestions with genre-aware writing
Full theme customization — HSL color palette control, background images, auto-theme option
Integrated booking system — Availability calendar + venue inquiry forms directly in the EPK
Asset downloads — Venues and press can download your logos and photos as ZIP files
Password protection — Optional access control for private EPKs
PDF export — Both visual EPK and technical rider as downloadable PDFs
Sonic profile display — Shows your audio analysis (mood, similar artists, instrumentation) on the published EPK

What sections can an EPK include?

Each section can be toggled on/off independently. All 14 sections:

Section	What it shows
About	Artist bio (full or AI-generated short version), tagline, location
Latest Release	Featured track with cover art, streaming links, YouTube/Bandcamp embeds
Sound Profile	Sonic Identity, "For Fans Of" chips, mood/energy sliders from audio analysis
Videos	YouTube videos from artist channel (featured large + grid layout)
Music	Embedded audio player with track list, seek/play controls, sticky playback bar
Private Demos	Unreleased/exclusive tracks for industry ears only
Highlights	Achievement bullets (e.g., "50K+ streams", "Spotify Playlisted")
Press Photos	4-column gallery with lightbox, download buttons, featured hero image
Brand Assets	Logos + press photos as downloadable ZIP files
Press Quotes	3-column grid with decorative quote marks and source attribution
Contact	Management, booking agent, email, website, social links
Social Links	Grid of platform links (Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, etc.)
Technical Rider	Stage plot, input list, requirements (see below)
Discography	Full album/singles catalogue

How does the Stage Plot Designer work?

An interactive drag-and-drop canvas with a visual grid (20x20px) and stage orientation markers (Upstage/Downstage). You can place 10 equipment types:

Mic, Drums, Amp, Monitor, DI Box, Power Outlet, Person (band member), Riser, Piano/Keyboard, Equipment Rack

Each item can be rotated, labeled (custom text), and repositioned freely. Positions are stored as percentages for responsive display. Works on both desktop (mouse) and mobile (touch).

What is the Input List / Patch Sheet?

A professional audio patch sheet table with columns for:

Channel # (auto-renumbered when items are deleted)
Instrument (e.g., "Kick Drum", "Lead Vocals")
Mic / DI (e.g., "Beta 52", "SM7B")
Stand Type (e.g., "Short Boom", "Straight")
Phantom Power (48V) checkbox
Notes (special requirements per channel)

This generates a professional-grade PDF for venue sound engineers.

What does the Technical Rider PDF include?

The rider PDF (accessible at /share/epk/[configId]/tech-rider) includes:

Header with artist name, title, and date
Visual stage plot diagram with labeled equipment
Full input list table
Logistics grid (load-in time, soundcheck duration, hospitality, parking)
Day-of-show contact info (name, phone, email)
All requirement sections: performance overview, stage requirements, audio/PA, monitoring, backline, power, playback, soundcheck notes

How does EPK booking integration work?

The published EPK has a Creative / Bookings toggle. The Bookings view shows:

Availability calendar — Shows open/booked dates
Venue inquiry form — Date, venue details, capacity capture
Technical verification — Venues can view your stage plot, input list, and download the full rider PDF
Booking documents — PDF/Word files auto-sent to venues on booking confirmation

How does theme customization work?

Two modes: Auto Theme applies a default "Obsidian & Rose" palette (near-black background with rose accents). Manual Theme lets you customize every color token (background, foreground, primary, card, accent, border, etc.) with a color picker that converts between HSL and HEX. You can also set a custom background image for the hero section.

Content Scheduler

How does the Content Scheduler work in detail?

Select a track (or album) and choose your objective
Pick platforms — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter/X, Facebook, Website
Select post type — Announcement, Teaser, Behind-the-scenes, Fan appreciation, Event/Tour, Collaboration, Freestyle
Choose tone — Neutral, Hype, Vulnerable, Mysterious, Funny, or Grateful
Add context — Optional artist story, achievements, UGC URLs, tour dates, collab partner info, YouTube links
Generate — AI creates platform-specific captions with hashtags and formatting tailored to each platform's style and character limits
Customize — Edit any caption, regenerate individual platforms, toggle link formats
Schedule — Set date/time or log as manual post

What is the 'Best Time to Post' feature?

IndieRocket shows real-time hourly audience activity scores for each platform. If your Meta account is connected, it pulls live data from the last 28 days of your audience activity. Otherwise, it shows general engagement patterns. The peak posting hour is highlighted with a badge.

What are post freshness indicators?

Each track shows a posting status:

Fresh (7 days or less since last post) — Green
Fading (8-30 days) — Yellow
Stale (30+ days) — Red
Not Posted — Gray

What special campaign types are available?

Seasonal events — Auto-suggested campaigns for Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc. with emoji indicators
Tour/event mode — Multi-date tour promotion with location fields
Collaboration mode — Feature partner details for cross-promotion content
Freestyle — Custom prompt for anything the AI templates don't cover

Billing

What subscription tiers are available?

Feature	Free	Trial	Paid
Artist profiles	1	Limited	Up to 10+
AI content generation	No	Yes	Yes
Full analytics	Basic	Yes	Yes
Playlist management	No	Yes	Yes
Spotify pitching	No	Yes	Yes
Music ads (Meta)	No	Yes	Yes
Visual Creator	No	Yes	Yes
Auto playlists	No	Yes	Yes
Landing/share pages	No	Yes	Yes
EPK builder	No	Yes	Yes
Full audio analysis	No	Yes	Yes

How does the free trial work?

Sign up and get 7-14 days with access to all features. No credit card required. This lets you explore everything before committing.

How do I manage billing?

Go to Subscription > Manage Billing to access the Stripe Customer Portal. From there you can update payment methods, view invoices, change plans, or cancel.

How do promo codes work?

Entered during sign-up only. Each code may have a maximum number of redemptions and an expiry date.

How do I delete my account?

Subscription > scroll to bottom > Delete Account > confirm twice. This permanently removes all data, campaigns, and analytics. Cannot be undone.

Settings

How do I change my artist's ad account?

My Artists > select artist > Ad Account dropdown. Each artist can have their own ad account for separate billing and analytics.

Can I customize my public pages?

Settings > Look & Feel to adjust brand colors, typography, and layout. Applies to all public-facing pages.

Troubleshooting

Campaigns show "Ghost" or "Zombie" status

Ghost: Campaign deleted on Meta but still in IndieRocket. Flagged for removal automatically.
Zombie: Running on Meta but disconnected from tracking. Reconnect your Meta account in Settings.

Audio analysis failed

Verify you uploaded a valid MP3 file (not WAV, FLAC, or AAC)
Check the file isn't corrupted or too short
Free tier: analysis uses Spotify preview clips — if no preview exists, analysis can't run
Try again — transient network issues can cause failures

Can't connect Facebook account

You need a Facebook Page (personal profiles can't run ads)
You need admin access to your Ad Account
Try clearing cookies and reconnecting
Grant all requested permissions during OAuth
See the full Meta Ads Setup guide above

Page looks broken in Instagram or Facebook's browser

In-app browsers have limited web support. Tap the three dots (or share icon) and choose "Open in Safari" or "Open in Chrome" for the full experience.

Dashboard is slow or not loading

Clear browser cache and refresh
Use a modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge)
Switch from in-app browser to your default browser
Check your internet connection

Glossary

Term	Definition
CPR	Cost Per Result — how much you pay for each desired outcome (stream, save, click)
CPM	Cost Per Mille — cost per 1,000 impressions
CPC	Cost Per Click — cost per ad click
CTR	Click-Through Rate — percentage of people who click after seeing your ad
ROAS	Return on Ad Spend — revenue generated per dollar spent
Learning Phase	Meta's initial period of optimizing ad delivery. IndieRocket calculates budget-aware protection windows.
Dynamic Push	IndieRocket's automated budget scaling for winning ads
Zombie	An ad spending budget with zero or poor results — auto-paused by IndieRocket
Unicorn	An ad performing 40%+ better than competitors — gets all campaign budget focused on it
Consolidation	Merging similar ads to concentrate budget on the top 2-8 performers per campaign
Kingdom Purge	Eliminating all competing ad sets when a Unicorn is confirmed
EPK	Electronic Press Kit — a professional portfolio page for venues, press, and industry
ISRC	International Standard Recording Code — unique identifier assigned by your distributor
ISWC	International Standard Musical Work Code — identifies the composition itself
Pre-Save	A countdown page where fans sign up for release-day notifications
Virtual Playlist	An auto-generated playlist that mixes your tracks with similar artists to train Spotify's algorithm
VFQ	Weighted Fair Queuing — the algorithm behind virtual playlist mixing
Share Page	A smart landing page with streaming links, optimized for both ad and organic traffic
Fast Mode	Lightweight share page rendering for ad traffic (auto-redirect, minimal DOM)
Pixel	Facebook tracking code for measuring ad conversions
CAPI	Conversions API — server-side tracking that supplements the Pixel for accuracy
First-Party Tracking	IndieRocket's privacy-friendly, cookie-independent tracking system
Sonic Targeting	Using audio analysis to build highly specific audience segments
Stage Plot	Visual diagram of stage equipment layout for venue sound engineers
Input List	Professional audio patch sheet listing every channel and mic requirement

Still need help?

If you can't find an answer here, reach out — we're a small team and we read every message.

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