An Introduction to Spotify for Artists
Your own control room on Spotify: what it does for you, how to get in and how to use it
Your music is on Spotify. Now you want people to actually find it, play it and come back for more. Spotify for Artists is where you make that happen. It is free, and because The Source is a Spotify Preferred Partner (a recognition Spotify gives only to distributors that meet its highest standards for quality, reliability and support), every artist and label with music on Spotify delivered through us can have access right away.
Our advice: USE IT. You get almost complete control over everything that helps your music stand out on Spotify, from pitching a new single to the editors to adding a moving visual to your track, it all happens on this one dashboard. |
What is Spotify for Artists?
Think of it as your backstage pass to Spotify. You decide what your artist profile looks like, you see who is listening and where, and you get your new music in front of the people who pick tracks for playlists. In short: it helps you get your music into more ears and shows you what works.
You will find the full overview at artists.spotify.com.
Watch this video for a quick overview.
What you can do with it
Figure 1. Everything you need, in one dashboard.
Make your artist profile your own
Your artist profile is the first thing listeners see when they tap your name. Change your photo and header, write your own bio, choose your Artist Pick (the song, album or playlist you want to put in the spotlight) and share your own playlists. Spotify has a handy article with tips on making the most of your artist profile.
See who is listening
Check your streaming data in real time: how many streams and listeners you have, who saves your songs, how people find your music, which playlists add you, who your listeners are and in which cities and countries they live. You can zoom in on a single release or track and pick any period you like. Use it to find out which songs hit home, whether your promotion pays off and where your fans are.
Pitch your new music to Spotify's editors
Before each release, you can pitch one unreleased track to Spotify's editors, the people who put together the editorial playlists. You can also pitch upcoming videos. Spotify accepts pitches up to seven days before release, but we advise you to pitch at least four weeks before release day. Whether your track is picked is up to the editors alone.
Promote your release with Campaign Kit
Campaign Kit helps you put new releases and older music in front of more listeners, with tools such as Countdown Pages, Marquee and Showcase. Discovery Mode is also available. Read up on that one first here.
Add a Canvas
A Canvas is a short, looping video that plays behind your track while people listen (in the Now Playing view). It makes your song look as good as it sounds.
Show your music videos
Upload and manage your music and performance videos directly on Spotify.
Work together as a team
Let your manager, band members or label colleagues in, each with their own login, and decide what everyone is allowed to do. The Activity Page shows who changed what.
For labels
Do you run a label with music on Spotify? Then you can use Spotify for Artists for your whole label at once. You get:
- data on every track and album in your catalogue and for every artist on your roster, for any period you choose;
- playlist pitching and the other Campaign Kit tools;
- Canvas and Music Video uploads;
- a label team with as many colleagues as you need, plus the Activity Page to see what everyone on the team has done.
Both the artist's own team and the label team can edit an artist profile, for example to update the bio or to share a playlist such as Artist Pick. Just getting started? Spotify's label onboarding guide navigates you through the first steps.
How to get access
Whether you are an artist or a label, you need a Spotify account. Use an account that belongs to the artist or the team, not a personal account you might lose later.
Figure 2. Getting access as an artist or as a label.
As an artist
- Go to artists.spotify.com/claim and log in with your Spotify account.
- Look up your artist profile and request access.
- Is a manager or label already connected to your profile? Then your request goes to them, not to Spotify.
You can only claim your profile once at least one of your releases is live on Spotify. Before that, there is no profile to claim. So, deliver your first release through us, wait until it is live and then claim your profile. Also note that we cannot claim your profile for you; you must do so yourself.
As a label
- Log in to Spotify for Artists with your Spotify account and choose Settings > Create Team, or go straight to artists.spotify.com/c/add-team.
- Use your work email address.
- Are you the first person from your label to ask for access? Then keep the URIs (Spotify links) of at least three tracks you have previously delivered to Spotify at hand.
- Is your label already set up? Then your request goes to the admin of your label team.
Is your request stuck? Let us know at content@the-source.eu. We will confirm to Spotify that we deliver your music. |
Deliver in time, pitch in time
Deliver your release to The Source at least six weeks before release day and pitch it at least four weeks before. In that time we and Spotify process your release and link it to the correct artist profile. The editors get the time to actually listen to your pitch. Our Release Rollout guide (or downlad as pdf) gives you the whole plan week by week, from six weeks before release until the weeks after.
Figure 3. Deliver in time, pitch in time.
Pitching and advertising through us
Send your press text and pitch information to content@the-source.eu at least four weeks before release. In some cases (it’s always an editorial decision) we may be able to help with paid advertising on Spotify. We will only do that if you actively work along with us and you can also advertise on Spotify yourself.
Get your release details right
Spotify for Artists can only show your music in the right place if the details you deliver with it are correct. Three fields matter more than most people think. You fill them in yourself in the Release Builder when you set up your release.
- Your Spotify artist link. Add the Spotify artist URI or URL for every artist shown on the release: main artist, featured artist and remixer. That way your music lands on the right artist profile, and Spotify does not have to guess or create a second profile with your name. New to Spotify? Mark the artist as new and Spotify creates a fresh profile. If you don’t know the URIs, just contact us with the artist names.
- Full names of composers and lyricists. First and last name, no initials and no band name. Spotify asks for this for nearly all new tracks. It makes sure songwriters get paid correctly, and it feeds the Songwriter profile and the data in Spotify for Publishing. Follow the guidance given in the Release Builder and make sure you read up on Contributor naming guidelines.
- The original release date. The very first day the recording ever came out, in any country and in any format. This is often not the same as the copyright or publishing year. It keeps your discography in the right order, and features such as Spotify Wrapped depend on it. Read more here.
Reliable delivery and clear reporting
As a Preferred Partner, The Source delivers your music through systems that meet Spotify's technical and content standards. For you, that means your releases are processed without hiccups, your reports are accurate and clear, and your music is distributed the right way. As you are likely aware being a label partner or artist distributing through us, we stand for your art and our operation, principles and standards fully align with best practices and stringent standards in the music industry, ensuring full conformity and transparency.
Fair play
We want your success to come from real fans who love your music. Artificial streams and other tricks hurt honest artists and spoil things for everyone. Spotify and The Source both want artists and rights holders to get paid fairly for genuine streams. Our knowledge base article dealing with Artificial Streaming and other fraud and how to prevent it on your content is mandatory reading!
Spotify keeps working to protect artists and keep the platform secure. We wholeheartedly stand by them in that effort. Some of those measures include:
- Verified by Spotify: shows listeners and the music industry which artist profiles are real.
- Artist profile protection: stops others from making changes to your profile without permission, so you stay in charge of it.
- AI personas: rules for how artists created by AI are marked and shown on Spotify, so listeners know who they are listening to.
- AI credits: rules for telling listeners when AI was used to make a song.
Essential links
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