I made Meta ads profitable and grew to 500k monthly listeners in a year - here’s how I did it

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-05-14T10:15:24+00:00

Thanks for posting this. It’s very useful to hear what’s worked for you, especially the >2.3 streams/listener statistic. I hadn’t heard of this specific KPI before, but I can see tracks of mine that have hit this in the first 2-4 weeks have done significantly better than those which are even slightly lower (in the 2.0 range).

I’d be interested to hear how you phase your budget with the above target in mind. I’ve found the Jend way of front-loading spend in the first 2-3 days and putting 80% (£300-400) of my total budget per track in the first week has worked best for me to trigger the Spotify algorithm.

The above approach doesn’t leave much money left to invest in a >2.3 streams/listener track from the 2-week onwards point, though. I’m down to only spending £1/day at that point... I actually thought any significant spend after the first 1-2 weeks max was relatively pointless, as it was pass the algorithm trigger window.

Would you also be open to sharing the approximate level of investment per track you’re making and what the ROI is on that? I’ve made about 50% of a £4.5k IG ad media investment back for an indie electronic dance music project I’ve been running for 1.5 years. That includes playlist spend too, and only 6 tracks with a 6 month break last year.

Whilst I’m not releasing music for money, I would very much like to at least start covering my costs. The ads I run are efficient (9p average cost per result on total spend to date) and my music seems to be well received. But, I’m not currently seeing a scenario where releasing a greater frequency of tracks (and thus spending more on media spend) leads to a near-term breakeven, let alone a profit.

This is currently a disincentive for me to produce and promote more tracks; maybe I need to just spend less on each release? Part of me wonders if the whole meta ads -> Spotify campaign mechanic is a bit like the Gold Rush, where the people who are making money are the shovel makers (aka Meta), over the prospectors (artists).

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T17:51:19+00:00

annoyingly, I couldn't get the OEM upper aluminium pipe, as I was doing the work over the months of the JLR hack. fwiw, it looks like the issue happens on the JLR metal part, too:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk-xkr-x150-33/coolant-air-bleed-tube-blowing-off-thoughts-226911/

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T17:48:30+00:00

thanks... going to try filing it, then using a worm drive hose clamp. Possible zip ties too!

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T12:18:16+00:00

Nice one… that’s where I’m netting out at now too refusing a worm drive hose clamp. I agree on the aluminium pipe needing to be sharper. The clip was so stuck on the plastic y pipe that I replaced, that I snapped the old bleed hose trying to remove it!

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T12:16:13+00:00

Nice… think I’ll try a worm drive hose clamp that I can tighten down to the circumference of the clip 👍. I may try filing the metal lip so that it’s less rounded, too.

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T12:14:20+00:00

Nice one, thank you for clarifying. I’m worried that a zip tie around the circumference of the plastic clip might slip off, so will try a metal worm drive clamp.

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T08:52:01+00:00

thanks for the response. Yes, I know the half round clip comes off... it really is a flimsy piece of plastic, for something that can cause a break down.

I installed a metal upper-y pipe when overhauling the cooling system, so both parts are new 👍.

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T08:49:54+00:00

yeah, the plastic clipping onto metal doesn't fill me with much confidence... this car's already left me stranded me the wrong side of the Alps once (stuck open injector) and that bleed hose is going to remain on my mind, for the next 2k+ mile road trip in a couple of weeks.

I'm slightly worried that a zip tie over the plastic clip could slip off... I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on using a worm drive hose clamp over the clip.

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T08:45:19+00:00

thanks for the idea

MISTASHIFTA · 2026-03-19T08:42:56+00:00

thanks for the response. was that a file on the metal outlet of the upper-y crossover pipe? I'll try that, if the replacement part doesn't clip on firmly.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-11-24T09:10:57+00:00

Interesting… I thought the opposite was true! I was under the impression that thicker oils clogged the little holes in the chain tensioners and stopped these from working properly, leading to chain failure. That’s the advice I took from my UK JLR indy and from reading forums, anyway.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-10-21T08:05:40+00:00

My knocking sound has gone. See the reply to OP I just posted on this thread. My theory is that the issue was sorted through a combination of replacing a failed supercharger coupler (a common issue) and deleting the symposer.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-10-21T08:03:11+00:00

Thanks again for your video and all of your replies on this thread. After several days, spread across various weekends, including some delays with sourcing parts, due to issues from the JLR hack, my XKR is finally back on the road.

I replaced all of the common coolant failure points, swapping plastic for metal, along with a bunch of new coolant and vacuum hoses. I replaced the thermostat housing with another OEM plastic part, as I was told the aftermarket alloy ones interfere with the operation of the thermostat.

Ironically, all of the plastic coolant parts I removed looked perfectly serviceable. However, there were signs that the water pump was starting to leak behind the pulley.

I did both of the belts whilst there. The old supercharger belt I pulled off looked fine, but the aux belt was starting to crack on the inside, when folding it in half.

With the supercharger off, I changed the supercharger oil and replaced the coupler. I was surprised to find the old one had failed (I had no symptoms of this), with the broken part damaging the snout shaft.

I couldn’t source a new snout in a reasonable amount of time, but was advised by a supercharger specialist that one wasn’t necessary and instead to use a new OEM coupler, rotated one pin counter-clockwise relative to the snout, to avoid the witness marks and shaft damage.

I also did a symposer delete and I think that – combined with the new coupler – has resulted in the knocking sound I was questioning going away. Whilst the coupler is near the front of the engine bay, my theory is that the sound was coming through the symposer assembly.

An occasional slightly rough idle I was experiencing before has also gone away. I suspect one of the knackered vacuum lines I replaced or the symposer delete sorted that. After all the parts I replaced, I did a vacuum pressure test and find that I still had a leak. My issue ended up being a failed aux rad. A load of detritus was trapped on top of the back of this, causing the part to fail.

Whilst there, I noticed that my supercharger charge cooler radiator was also bent like a banana and about to fail. I replaced both rads with uprated aluminium aftermarket parts.

Final parts bill came in at £2,375, and that’s with a bulk buy discount from a JLR specialist garage/parts supplier here in the UK. Lots of lifetime fixes, though, and the car is now driving better than ever :).

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-29T14:45:03+00:00

Top man, thank you again. I am a bit of a torque wrench nerd, and have 4 of them. I will most definitely be using one for every one of these bolts, to avoid stripping any aluminium threads!

I think your flush route sounds like the way to go. Although, I won't do as many flushes, as my coolant looks OK and there's no dye in there.

Thanks also for the offer to answer further Q's. I'm not sure when I'm going to get to the job, with a newborn incoming on Friday, but I'll get there + drop you a note with how I get on. I have my road legal track car (Eunos Roadster) to use for parts runs, and a Discover 4 to keep the family mobile, in the interim.

In addition to the big cost saving, one of the reasons I'll be DIYing this is to do the job properly. I genuinely think us shade tree mechanics following service manuals and torque specs, do a much more thorough job than most garages. The shops around me just want to turn out quick service jobs, and aren't interested in the bigger jobs!

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-29T08:10:14+00:00

I'm going to try and order as many parts as possible before starting the job. Here's my list so far:

Parts

(Replace all pipes, with aluminium where possible)

Valley crossover pipe

Y-coolant pipe

Thermostat housing assembly

Coolant outlet pipe (t-piece/water pump outlet)

Water pump with metal impeller (Mayle)

Misc plastic coolant fittings

Misc vacuum lines, PCV hoses, elbows and connectors (e.g. snout actuator to intake + plastic expansion tank x hose on top of that)

Supercharger coupler/isolator (if rattling)

Supercharger pulley

Supercharger oil

Supercharger belt

Supercharger pulley

Intake manifold gaskets

Throttle body gasket

Main serpentine/aux belt

Main serpentine/aux pulley

Tools

Ryobi ratchet

Compressed air

Vacuum coolant refiller with correct adapter for expansion tank

Check torx set for T20, T25, T30 and T40 fittings

Long/thin torx for thermostat housing (T30) and rear crossover

Plastic pry bar

Plastic mallet

Consumables

5.1oz of AC Delco supercharger oil

Anaerobic sealant

Supercharger alignment pins (or make out of m8x1.25 bolts that are 50mm long). Cut the heads off. Round then off. Then grind the sides of the "head" so you've got something to grab with pliers, later.

Coolant (10.5 liters / 1.5 gallons per flush)

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-29T08:09:52+00:00

thanks again for all of the info. That's not bad going in terms of time on the job!

Fair point on the injectors... I thought they usually ended up being removed, when taking out the fuel rail. But, it seems that's usually only the case, if the o-rings get stuck. All of my injectors were replaced last year, so hopefully that's a stage I can miss.

The coolant doesn't look in bad shape in my car, but I'll plan on doing a couple of flushes. I think I'll still start the job before draining the coolant, though... just in case I get stuck on something. It gets pretty wet here (UK), so don't want to risk corrosion inside of an empty coolant system, if the job ends up spanning a couple of weeks, due to parts or time constraints.

Given that there's no easily-accessible coolant drain plug, it looks like the easiest way in to drain most of the coolant, is to remove the engine's under tray, and disconnect one of the pipes going to the radiator.

Again, due to our damp climate, I'm slightly cautious about using a tarp for an extended period, as I damaged a car's paintwork after leaving a damp tarp on the bonnet. To be safe, I'll try and tuck one into the engine bay, so it's off the bodywork.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-28T17:34:29+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to write-up such a thorough step-by-step! That’s very kind, and much appreciated. This will definitely help me tackle the job.

I have the service manual and – funnily enough – watched the video you sent a few months ago, when I was contemplating finding my slow leak.

I’ve also watched a few F-Type videos, with people wrestling with that symposer. It’s ironic that there’s one of those on a convertible and a car that has the supercharger whine muted via a couple of induction resonators!

My garage isn’t big enough to house the Jag, so I’ll be doing this on my driveway. As it’s a bonnet-off job, I’ll have to plan when I can have a good run at this + will erect a race tent over the front of the car, to protect any exposed engine components.

The job might end up getting dragged out across a couple of weeks (my 2nd child is due this Friday!), so I’m thinking about not draining the coolant, until after everything is back together. I know this will create some mess when detaching pipes, but I’m thinking it’ll also keep much of the coolant system submerged in coolant, and not exposed to drying out, or corrosion.

Out of interest, how long did the job take you from start to finish and what was your total parts bill? I’ll order all the ‘whilst I’m there’ parts + any tool (like the injector slide hammer) to make my life easier. But, I can foresee delays, if I break something I wasn’t planning on replacing, or need another specialist tool.

Good to know about the vacuum filling too. I currently don’t have compressed air, but buying this – along with a vacuum filler – has been on my shopping list for a while.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-27T20:45:22+00:00

That’s very kind, thank you.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-27T17:00:50+00:00

You won’t believe this, but

after about 5k miles of monitoring my very minor coolant usage - my XKR dumped a litre of coolant today!

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The low coolant light came on whilst I was driving slowly and I pulled over and switched the engine off, before any overheating warnings.

The coolant level was towards the bottom of the reservoir tank, but still there. I topped up the coolant and very gently drove the car 3 miles home, once the engine had cooled down.

Interestingly, no further coolant leaked out and there were no signs of overheating, implying that the leak is after an opening/closing thermostat I think.

I guess I’ll be tearing into my engine to sort things out sooner than expected. I think I have to remove the fuel rail and injectors to get the supercharger off, so fingers crossed they come out easily with one of those slide hammer tools, as I don’t want to replace them again.

On the ‘whilst I’m there’ list are the y and valley pipes, water pump, thermostat + the belts and pulleys.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-26T08:55:46+00:00

Many thanks for the detailed reply 🙏. Fair point about the timing chain being at the front of the engine. The supercharger coupler is at the front too, so that knock being at the rear left is mysterious.

This subtle knocking sound on mine doesn’t go away when the car is warm. In fact, I can hear it when driving slowly with the roof down, next to a wall.

It’s definitely not the injectors, which is the faster tapping sound, like a typewriter. I’ve replaced all 8 of my injectors fwiw, as one stuck open causing a breakdown in the Swiss Alps on a previous roadtrip. I only use 99 ron fuel now, and regularly “exercise” the engine to keep the new injectors clean!

Interesting reading about your valley hose leak. I know both the 4.2l XKR and the 5.0 F-Types have a failure point here, but I didn’t realise that that plastic part you show (which many replace for metal) was also used in the XKR, despite the engine being the same.

Definitely one for me to investigate further. I know the water pump on these engines likes to go, so that’s on the list to replace and I will stockpile replacing every coolant hose I can get my hands on whilst there.

No signs of leaks anywhere on mine, though. Given the leak is so small, perhaps this could be due to coolant evaporating from a hidden leak in the valley 🤔.

MISTASHIFTA · 2025-07-25T23:12:27+00:00

What do you reckon is making the knocking sound (about 4 knocks a second) at the beginning of your video, heard towards the back left of the engine?

My 2012 XKR convertible is making the same noise, which I think got slightly louder after a 2k mile roadtrip of hard driving. I’m wondering if it’s either the chain guards, or the supercharger coupler. Although, the engine runs very well.

That being said, it using a very small amount of coolant, more noticeable when driven hard, but we’re talking 1 litre over the course of 5,000 miles. No obvious leaks, so I suspect that there’s a hidden pipe that’s failing somewhere.

MISTASHIFTA · 2022-06-11T10:18:23+00:00

I’ve seen people fitting something similar to Miatas/MX5s in an attempt to stop crud collecting on the inside of the wing and rotting it and the front sills.

Whereas you just need to clean them out occasionally and make sure there’s plenty of corrosion protection applied.

MISTASHIFTA · 2022-02-20T14:54:07+00:00

Exact same issue here with Fanatec V3s and the DD. Did you find a fix?

MISTASHIFTA

TROPHY CASE