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January 31, 20234 mins read

How to claim your Spotify for Artist’s profile

By Leesa

Never released music on Spotify before? Have you got a final recording mixed and mastered and ready to go? But you have realized you can’t just log into Spotify and upload your tracks like you would with Soundcloud. We got you, follow the simple steps below to find out how to claim your Spotify for Artists profile.

What you need before you claim your Spotify account

Before you even think about trying to claim your Spotify account, you need to make sure you have the following:

  1. A final mixed and mastered track in wav. and mp3. formats.
  2. Artwork that is exactly 1:1 ratio (square) and at least 640 pixels wide and tall.
  3. The lyrics to the song.
  4. The agreed-upon song splits for copyright.
  5. A header image that is at least 2660px x 1140px.
  6. A profile/avatar image that is at least 750px x 750px.
  7. Any gallery images you want to include in the about section, must be at least 690px x 500px.
  8. A bio that is no longer than 1500 characters.

Choose your distributor

If you are an independent musician, you will likely not be signed to a label that would normally handle your distribution. In this case, you need to pick a distributor who will send your music to stores like Spotify. Some examples of distributors you can use are Ditto, CD Baby, Tunecore and even Vampr distribute!

These online distributors do not take any copyright, unlike a label. Instead, they may take a one-off fee or a subscription fee that is very affordable.

Once you have chosen a distributor, they will ask you to input your metadata. That means you will include:

  • The track
  • The title
  • The track artwork
  • Song splits and contributor names
  • Lyrics

Once this is submitted and your distributor has sent it to stores, you need to request the artist link or URI from the distributor. You can claim your profile only once your music has been ingested on the back end. This shouldn’t take too long, usually only a day or two.

Claim your Spotify profile

Now that you have the artist link or URI, you can claim your profile!

Head to this link to get started: https://artists.spotify.com/en/claim

Unless you are part of a label team for the artist, you will click on the artist or manager option. You will be redirected to input the URI and then the name of the artist should pop up. Select this and then fill out the required information. You will be asked to verify your account with either Instagram, Twitter, or a website to confirm your identity. It will take a couple of days for Spotify to review this and grant you access.

And that’s it! Once you are approved you are in. But wait, that’s not the end of it….

Set up your Spotify for Artist’s profile

Now that you have access to your profile, you need to edit it. This is where some of those assets  you needed to have ready previously will suddenly become useful!

Spotify for Artists lets you:

  • Add artist images
  • Write your bio
  • Add an Artist Pick
  • Feature an artist playlist
  • Add a Fan Support link

Artist Images

Avatar image: Your image in search results and the Spotify mobile app.

  1. Go to Profile.
  2. Click the pencil icon in the top-right.
  3. Under Avatar image, click UPDATE.

Header image: The cover image at the top of your profile in the Spotify desktop app and web player.

  1. Log in to artists.spotify.com.
  2. Go to Profile.
  3. Click the pencil icon in the top-right.
  4. Under Header image, click UPDATE.

Image gallery: Images in the About section of your profile.

Add, remove, or reorder images in your image gallery. You can add up to 125 images.

  1. Go to Profile.
  2. Click ABOUT.
  3. Click the pencil icon next to Image gallery.

Artist Bio

Use Spotify for Artists to create and update the bio on your artist profile.

  • You have 1500 characters for your bio
  • Use @tags to link to artists, albums, playlists, and tracks on Spotify
  • Paste Spotify links in the text field
  • Add links to your social media and Wikipedia page
  1. Go to Profile.
  2. Click ABOUT.
  3. Click the pencil icon next to Bio.Tip: To add links to social media and Wikipedia, click the pencil icon next to More info.

Artist’s Pick

Artist Pick lives at the top of your artist profile.

Use Artist Pick to showcase:

  • Any song, album, or playlist
  • Your concerts
  • Podcasts

You can personalize your Pick with an image and short message.

Keep in mind:

  • Your Artist Pick shows for up to 14 days
  • After 14 days, your Pick disappears (but you can update it any time)
  • If Artist Pick shows a tour, it displays until the day after the last show
  1. Log in to Spotify for Artists.
  2. Go to Profile.
  3. Select + under Artist Pick.

Artist’s Playlist

You can feature any playlist on your artist profile. You can show off a playlist your music has been added to or just show people your music taste, up to you!

First make your own playlist via the Spotify app. Once it is ready, do the following:

  1. Go to Profile.
  2. Click the pencil icon next to Artist Playlists.
  3. Search for the playlist or paste a Spotify link.

Fan Support

This is a really great way for fans to support you. You can raise money for your band, crew or next album. Spotify doesn’t take a cut from these donations.

Your fundraising link must be through an approved partner and there are a select few. These include:

Make sure you pick the payment platform that is relevant to your country and set up an account so you can start recieving support.

  1. Log in to artists.spotify.com.
  2. Go to Profile.
  3. Under Fan Support, click + Get support directly from fans.
  4. Fill in the Fan Support submission form and click AGREE AND SUBMIT.

Update!

Now your artist profile is ready to go and when your music is released, everyone will see a beautiful profile with images, a bio, ways to support you and find out more about your music taste. Don’t forget when you release new music or get new headshots to update your profile so that it is consistent with your socials and campaign.

If this was helpful, you may also find our Revenue checklist for emerging musicians valuable as well. Read now >> https://www.vampr.me/blog/revenue-checklist-for-emerging-musicians-vampr-blog/

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