Spotify for Artists: Claim, Pitch, Read Stats
Claim Spotify for Artists, prepare your profile, pitch an unreleased song, read release stats, and check which promotion tools you can use.
Spotify for Artists lets you claim and manage your artist profile, pitch eligible unreleased music, add visuals, and read audience and release data. Log in at artists.spotify.com, request access to your artist team, then prepare your profile and next release before you use the pitch and campaign sections.
This guide walks through access, profile controls, Canvas, editorial pitching, audience stats, Marquee, Showcase and Countdown Pages using Spotify's current support pages.
Get access to Spotify for Artists
Spotify creates your artist profile when a label or distributor first delivers your music. You claim the existing page and join its artist team.
Follow this route:
- Open Spotify for Artists and sign in with your personal Spotify account.
- Choose the option to request access to an artist team.
- Find your artist profile and confirm that you selected the right catalog.
- Add your artist website or social links so Spotify can verify your identity.
- Submit the request and watch the email address tied to your Spotify account.
Spotify says it reviews claims manually and approval can take a few days. Only one request can stay active for an artist profile at a time. If someone already claimed the team, ask a Team Admin to invite you. A preferred distributor may give you instant access after you submit the request (getting access to Spotify for Artists).
You can also claim a profile before your first release goes live. Ask your label or distributor for the Spotify artist link or URI and the UPC or EAN for the upcoming release, then contact Spotify through its access process.
Fix a Spotify for Artists login problem
Use the personal Spotify account that originally joined the artist team. Your login email can differ from the business email where Spotify sends artist updates.
If Spotify asks you to claim the profile again, try the other email addresses or sign-in methods you have used for Spotify. Reset the password for the account that already belongs to the team. If another Team Admin still has access, ask them to invite your current account. Spotify directs the only admin on a locked team to contact support (Spotify for Artists login help).
Once you regain access, check the team list and remove accounts that no longer need it. Give each person the narrowest role that matches their work.
| Access level | What the person can do |
|---|---|
| Reader | View music, audience stats, roster and profile |
| Editor | View data, edit the profile, add Canvas, pitch releases and manage campaigns |
| Admin | Use Editor controls and manage payment methods |
| Team Admin | Invite or remove team members and change their access |
Spotify assigns access per team, so the same person can hold different levels for different artists (Spotify for Artists access levels).
Set up your artist profile
Open View Profile and check the public page as a listener would see it. Complete the parts that help a new listener understand who you are and what to play next.
Start with these controls:
- Add a current artist image and header that match the release you promote.
- Write a concise bio with specific music, collaborators, place and context.
- Add your social links through the web interface.
- Pin a song, album, playlist, concert, merch item or podcast with Artist Pick.
- Review the releases attached to your profile and report any catalog mix-up.
Spotify allows up to 1,500 characters in the artist bio. You can use artist tags and Spotify links inside it (adding a bio). Artist Pick sits at the top of your profile and can carry an image and a short message. A standard Pick remains for 180 days unless you change it earlier, while concert and merch Picks can end sooner when the event passes or the item sells out (managing Artist Pick).
Update the profile before you send press, playlist or radio contacts to it. The profile should confirm the same artist story, spelling and current release that your pitch uses. Build the supporting press page with the EPK template guide when you also need photos, credits and a private listening link.
Add Canvas to a track
Canvas places a short vertical visual loop in the Now Playing view. Spotify's current guidelines require a 3 to 8 second clip in a 9:16 vertical format, with a height between 720 and 1,080 pixels. It accepts MP4 or JPG files (Canvas guidelines).
Choose a loop that remains clear on a phone. Avoid rapid flashes, important details near the cropped edges and a visual that depends on exact lyric timing. Spotify already shows the artist and song name in the player, so the visual can focus on the release's motion and mood.
Admins and Editors can add Canvas. Open Video and Visuals, choose the track and upload the file. Preview the loop on a phone before you leave it live.
Pitch an unreleased song to Spotify editors
Deliver the release through your label or distributor early enough for it to appear under Music, then Upcoming. Spotify requires Admin or Editor access for a pitch.
Submit the pitch in this order:
- Open Music, then Upcoming.
- Choose one eligible unreleased song.
- Complete the genre, mood, culture, instrumentation and song-context fields accurately.
- Describe how you made the song and who worked on it.
- State the release activity you have actually confirmed.
- Review every field and submit before the release date.
Spotify asks you to deliver and pitch at least 7 days before release. When you meet that deadline, Spotify adds the song to your followers' Release Radar playlists. You can pitch only one song at a time, and you cannot pitch a compilation, a song that already went live, or a song where you appear only as a featured artist. Editors can choose another song, and a pitch does not guarantee editorial placement (pitching to Spotify playlist editors).
Give the editor concrete information. Name the sound, instruments, collaborators, location, story and confirmed release plan. Remove empty praise and predictions. A useful pitch helps an editor place the song in context without asking them to trust an unsupported claim.
Use the Spotify playlist submission guide to separate this official editorial form from independent-curator outreach. Each lane has its own recipient, rules and evidence.
Read Spotify for Artists stats after release
Open your data with a question. If you ask how listeners found the release, check Source of Streams. If you ask whether the song brought repeat attention, compare listeners, streams per listener, saves and playlist adds. If you ask where to focus a campaign or show, inspect countries and cities over a useful period.
Spotify groups stream sources into active and programmed listening:
| Source group | What it includes | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Artist profile, catalog, a listener's library, personal playlists and queue | Did listeners choose your music directly? |
| Programmed | Editorial playlists, personalized playlists, autoplay, mixes and other listeners' playlists | Which recommendation or playlist context introduced the song? |
You can find Source of Streams on Audience, Song and Release overview pages. Filter compatible reports by time period, country and metric. Spotify warns that source subtotals by listener can exceed the total because one listener can use several sources (Source of Streams).
For a release review, use three passes:
- First 7 days: check the live release pulse, playlist appearances and obvious delivery problems.
- First 28 days: compare active and programmed sources, saves, playlist adds, locations and streams per listener.
- Later comparison: compare the same time window against a previous release and record which actions changed.
Spotify counts a song stream after at least 30 seconds of listening. Spotify records Spotify for Artists stats in UTC, so use the same time window when you compare reports (how streams are counted).
Avoid reading one number as a verdict on the song. Connect each metric to a decision you control. A city concentration can inform local outreach. A strong active share can support a direct-to-fan follow-up. A programmed spike can prompt you to inspect the playlist source and watch whether those listeners return.
The guide to getting more Spotify streams turns those readings into a release plan that stays inside Spotify's rules.
Check Marquee and Showcase eligibility
Spotify now groups Marquee and Showcase under display campaigns. Marquee uses a full-screen mobile recommendation for a new release. Showcase uses a banner on Home and can promote a new or catalog release.
| Tool | Release window | Placement | Standard campaign length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marquee | Within 21 days of release | Full-screen mobile recommendation | About 10 days |
| Showcase | Any eligible release time | Home banner | About 14 days |
Availability depends on your team country, payment card, target market, streaming history, audience and release. Spotify currently requires at least 1,000 streams during the previous 28 days in at least one target market to access display campaigns. Marquee also requires at least 5,000 monthly active listeners in the selected target market (getting started with display campaigns).
Open Campaigns, then Display, to see what your team can use. Treat the dashboard as the final eligibility check because supported markets and release conditions can change.
Create a Countdown Page for an eligible release
A Countdown Page lets listeners pre-save an upcoming album or EP, preview its tracklist, watch countdown videos and see tagged merch. On release day, Spotify notifies pre-savers and adds the release to their library.
Spotify currently requires at least 3,000 monthly active listeners for the artist. The release must be a new, original album or EP. Singles, compilations, reissues, remasters and anniversary editions do not qualify. Spotify also applies delivery, main-artist and rights requirements (getting started with Countdown Pages).
When an eligible release appears under Music, then Upcoming, choose Get started, add available countdown videos and merch, review the page and publish it. You can then use it as your Artist Pick and share it through your own channels.
Turn Spotify data into an outreach decision
Your Spotify dashboard tells you what happened inside Spotify. It does not identify every appropriate journalist, radio producer or independent curator for the next release. Keep that work in a separate contact process with source evidence and your approval.
Use Outchorus to find music contacts that fit your artist and release, review the evidence attached to each opportunity, edit the draft and approve the exact message before it goes out. Start with one release, then use your Spotify source and location data to decide which contact lane deserves your attention.
Fix six common Spotify for Artists mistakes
You claim the wrong artist profile
Compare the catalog, artist URL and distributor metadata before you submit. Report a catalog mix-up through Spotify support instead of building a team around the wrong page.
You wait until release week to request access
Claim the profile as soon as your distributor gives you the artist link. Manual review can take several days, and the editorial pitch needs an eligible upcoming release in your dashboard.
You pitch after the song goes live
Pitch while the song remains under Upcoming. Spotify closes song eligibility once the track goes live.
You write praise without release facts
Replace adjectives with sound, instruments, collaborators, story and confirmed plans. Give an editor details they can evaluate.
You compare mismatched time windows
Use the same number of days and the same market filters for each release. Spotify records the stats in UTC.
You assume every promotion tool appears for every artist
Open the relevant Campaigns or Upcoming section and check your current eligibility. Spotify limits tools by country, audience, streaming history, release type and rights.
Spotify for Artists questions
How do you get Spotify for Artists?
Sign in at artists.spotify.com, find your existing artist profile and request access. Add your website or social links for identity review. If a team already controls the profile, ask its Team Admin to invite you.
Where do you log in to Spotify for Artists?
Log in at artists.spotify.com with the personal Spotify account that belongs to your artist team. Your account login email can differ from the business email that receives artist updates.
How early should you send a Spotify for Artists pitch?
Spotify requires at least 7 days before release for the pitched song to reach your followers' Release Radar. Deliver earlier so the release appears under Upcoming and you have time to correct metadata or access problems.
Which Spotify for Artists stats should you read first?
Start with listeners, streams, saves, streams per listener and Source of Streams for the same time window. Then inspect countries, cities and playlists when they answer a specific release or outreach question.
Can every artist use Marquee or Countdown Pages?
No. Spotify applies separate country, audience, streaming, release and rights requirements. Check Campaigns for Marquee or Showcase and Music, then Upcoming, for Countdown Page eligibility.