Quick Guide to Spotify
This blog is for those who have a music project on more of a local level. Spotify is a major streaming platform that many people use and listen to. We will go over the bases to cover when setting up your Spotify. Having images with the correct specs, writing a well informed bio with backlinking, and captivating video clips are essential for setting up your Spotify. This creates your online authority for your music project and gives Spotify material to pars through. In a nutshell, you are helping Spotify get your music in front of the right audience, organically (no payment needed).
I see a lot of local bands fall short in this area because well… ya’ll are focusing on creating music! Totally understandable. Hopefully, this Spotify guide will help you market your creations correctly. I want all of you to succeed in your musical endeavors.
Spotify Bio
Your Spotify bio is a great spot for describing your project and the history behind why you create. Within the text of your bio, reference other bands that have influenced your sound or are in a similar vein as your project and link to them. This creates backlinking within Spotify and will help with increasing your discoverability within the platform. Your bio is also a great place to show case more images and photos of your band and link to your socials. Having a full equipped bio gives you more authority online and can help with organic growth over time.
What is Your Visual Identity for Spotify?
What is it? Are you a singer-song writer? a Metal band? a Hip-hop group? Whatever the case may be, you probably have images or art that goes along with your music! (I love good visuals that uplift sicks tunes!)
Here is a quick process for making DIY Spotify assets on your own:
Gather all of your digital assets into one place (images, art, photos, promo shots, videos, etc.)
Do you have access to image editing programs? If not, there are plenty of alternative to Photoshop that are out there.
Affinity Photo is similar to Photoshop in power but without the annoying monthly fee!
Canva is a great product for folks who do not have the money or time for big image editors like Photoshop. If you need assests quickly, I suggest looking into Canva. They have a great free version and the user interface is awesome for beginners! Plus it has preset image size for most social media posts and banners. If you pay for Canva, you get more tools and better presets. Sometimes I just pay for the month if I know I need to create some stuff on the fly for myself and my clients.
Identify what you are trying to promote - New album? New single release?
From there, use what you got! Who cares if its random picture from a show a few months ago? It was a sick shot so USE IT! Only have a few pieces of art for your new album? See how far you can stretch that! You could making a darker or lighter version of the art with overlays or maybe a zoomed shot of the art to create a nice patterned background! Play around with this idea in your images editor and see what you create.
Once you have figured out your visual identity, its time to implement the correct images files into Spotify.
Spotify Image and Video Requirements
As an artist on Spotify, you will be in control of adding your banner, images, bio, clips, and album art to your profile. Having the correct file size for each asset is crucial since there are only a few places to add images and videos. Below are the requirements:
Use .jpeg, .png, or .gif file formats
Avatar images must be at least 750px x 750px
Header images must be at least 2660px x 1140px
This is what shows at the top. Remember that everyone has a different mobile view. Screen size vary between users. Be mindful of your visual subject here as the image might be cut off on small screen sizes. I suggest using photos of the members in the band or art. And making sure that the focus of the image is towards the middle while leaving room for the cut off or bleed.
Images in your image gallery must be at least 690px x 500px
This is for images in your bio not cover art images
learn more about Artist Image requirements here
Cover Art Image Requirement:
TIFF, PNG, or JPG format using lossless encoding
The highest resolution available
At least 640px wide and tall
1:1 aspect ratio
Encoded with an sRGB color space, 24bits per pixel, with color profiles applied directly
learn more about Cover Art requirements here
Your image can’t be larger than 20MB
Don’t include infringing or offensive materials
Don’t include text, advertising, or busy backgrounds.
I have seen bands use text and logos in their banners, but sometimes it doesn’t look right. Reference my tip header images.
Don’t promote your upcoming tour or album release
Make sure your images align with Spotify’s copyright policy
Clips are short, under-30-second vertical videos you can upload through Spotify for Artists. Learn More about Clips here.
Spotify’s Clips are those cool short videos that play when you are listening to a song on Spotify. There are many ways to utilize this feature. I suggest using them to highlight your important songs, like new singles. You don’t need to have a clip for every song. It can be redundant especially if you only have a few video assets. Now if you have a lot of different video assets, sprinkling clips in here and there is not a bad thing. Sometimes people get hooked to a short cool clip that syncs well with a banger song. They remember it visually to go back and listen to it. I want that to happen with your project!
Did You Just Create an Organic Digital Marketing Campaign…on Spotify?
Holy shit! You might have if you followed along with the guide. You might not be a graphic designer or marketer, but be proud to show and elevate your music online. As musicians, you spend a lot of time creating your sound and it needs to be heard! I hope this quick Spotify guide has helped alleviate the pressure of marketing yourself in a professional way.
