How do I get access to Spotify for Artists?

Once your first release is live, or delivered and upcoming, claim your profile at artists.spotify.com. Many distributors can also give you instant access.

Can I pay to get on Spotify playlists?

Not on editorial playlists: pitching is free and doesn't guarantee placement. Avoid services that guarantee streams or playlist placements. Spotify can withhold royalties, correct stream counts and remove songs from playlists if it finds artificial streaming, and distributors can remove music or close accounts.

Why isn't my song earning royalties?

Since April 2024, a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months (and a minimum number of unique listeners) to earn recording royalties on Spotify.

What's the difference between monthly listeners and monthly active listeners?

Monthly listeners counts everyone who streamed you in the last 28 days. Monthly active listeners counts only those who chose your music on purpose, from your profile, releases or their own library and playlists. Active listeners are the better sign of real fans.

Spotify for Artists, end to end

Get access first

Spotify for Artists is free. Once you have a release live or delivered, claim your profile at artists.spotify.com, or ask your distributor for access. Add team members (a manager, a bandmate) with the right access level rather than sharing a login.

Your profile

Your profile is your shop window on Spotify. Set up:

Artist image and header that match your other platforms.
Bio (your one-paragraph version), with links to your socials.
Artist Pick: pin your latest release, a playlist or a show at the top of your profile. Update it every release.
Artist playlists: a playlist of your songs and your influences gives listeners somewhere to keep going.
Concerts and merch, if you have them.

Pitching every release

Pitch one song from every release to Spotify's editors from Music → Upcoming:

Deliver it at least seven days before release. A pitch at least seven days ahead also puts the song into your followers' Release Radar.
One song at a time, and not songs you're only featured on.
Fill in genre, mood, instruments, language and culture tags accurately, and add a short story.
Pitching doesn't guarantee placement, and editors may choose a different song.

Pitch every single release, even if you've never been picked. Release Radar alone makes it worth it.

Canvas

Canvas is the short looping video that replaces your cover art in the Now Playing view.

3 to 8 seconds, vertical 9:16, between 720 and 1080 pixels tall, MP4 or JPG.
Spotify advises footage without singing or rapping, since it won't sync with the lyrics, and no fast cuts or flashing.
Leave out the song title and artist name, which already appear on screen.

A simple loop from your music video, a moving version of your cover, or a moody shot of you is enough.

Countdown Pages

A Countdown Page is a pre-save page on Spotify itself, with a timer, tracklist, Clips and merch. The rules:

Only for new albums and EPs, not singles or re-releases.
You need at least 5,000 monthly active listeners.
When the release goes live, Spotify notifies everyone who pre-saved and adds it to their library. Spotify says nearly 70% of people who pre-save an album stream it in the first week.

For singles, use your distributor's or a third-party pre-save link.

Paid tools, and India

Spotify offers two paid ways to promote, but neither was open to India-based teams when this module was written:

Tool	What it does	India-based teams
Display campaigns (Marquee and Showcase)	Paid full-screen pop-ups (Marquee) and Home banners (Showcase) recommending your release	Not available: teams must be based in, and pay with a card from, a listed country
Discovery Mode	Flags songs for more recommendation in personalised contexts such as Radio and Autoplay, for a 30% commission on recording royalties from those streams	Not available: teams must be registered in a listed country, with 25,000+ monthly listeners

Check Spotify's pages for updates. For now, growth on Spotify for most Indian independent artists comes from pitching, active listeners and promotion elsewhere that sends people to Spotify.

Understanding your audience

Spotify for Artists splits your audience into three segments:

Segment	Who they are
Monthly active listeners	Chose your music on purpose in the last 28 days, from your profile, releases, library or own playlists
Previously active listeners	Used to be active, but haven't chosen your music in 28 days
Programmed listeners	Only heard you on playlists, Radio, Autoplay or AI DJ

Active listeners break down further into super listeners (15+ intentional streams in 28 days), moderate (3 to 14) and light (1 to 2). Growing active and super listeners matters more than raw monthly listeners: Spotify says listeners who actively stream a song play that artist 4x more over the next six months.

Rules that affect your money

The 1,000-stream rule. Since April 2024, a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months, and a minimum number of unique listeners, to earn recording royalties.
Artificial streaming. Never buy streams or "guaranteed" playlist placements. Spotify can withhold royalties, correct counts and pull songs from playlists; distributors can remove music or suspend accounts; and Spotify charges distributors for flagrant cases.
Impersonation. Releasing music in another artist's voice without permission isn't allowed. See the AI track.

Your checklist

Claim your profile and add your team.
Update image, bio, links and Artist Pick each release.
Pitch every release at least seven days ahead, ideally three to four weeks.
Upload a Canvas for every song.
Check active and super listeners monthly. See Module 8.