Spotify is still the king of music streaming, so you’ll want to take advantage of every aspect the streaming service offers to artists. This means in addition to simply getting your music on Spotify via a distribution service like Distrokid or Ditto, you’ll want to claim your artist profile on Spotify, also known as “Spotify for Artists”.
With that in mind, let’s talk how to do just that with a quick guide to setting up an artist profile on Spotify.
How to Set Up an Artist Profile on Spotify
Step 1 – Go to https://artists.spotify.com/home and Click “Get Access”
Navigate to https://artists.spotify.com/home and in the top right of the page you’ll see a button which says “Get Access”:
Step 2 – Specify Your Role
You’ll now be on this page which will prompt you to specify whether you’re an artist/manager or label team member:
This will give you different levels of access. I’m assuming if you’re reading this, you’re the former, so click “Artist or Manager”.
Step 3 – Create a/Log in to Your Spotify Account
You’ll now be prompted to login to your Spotify account (or create one if you don’t have one already):
Because I’ve been asked this question before – YES you can control multiple Spotify for Artists profiles with a single email/account. Just note that you need to wait to get access to one artist at a time before you can begin work claiming a second artist profile, and this can take a couple few days (though more on this in a moment).
With all that in mind, you may just want to use the same account you use to listen to music on Spotify for simplicity sake, but there’s no requisite and it doesn’t matter if the Spotify account you use has “Spotify Premium” access or not (for what it’s worth).
Step 4 – Select the Artist You Want to Make a Profile For
After you log in, assuming your music is already on Spotify, click “Continue”:
Now search for your artist name using the search field:
Note that if you uploaded your music with most of the popular distribution services like Distrokid, you can instantly verify your ownership and status as the person who uploaded it by logging into that account:
Make sure you’re logged into your Distrokid account (for example) and the “Let’s Go” link will automatically take you to a page on that service for expediting the verification process.
If you didn’t use one of the distribution services which offers instant verification or it’s simply not working as intended (I had an issue where I initially uploaded my music via Distrokid but moved it to Ditto Music and Spotify wasn’t making that connection), you can click “Skip instant access”.
In that case, you’ll have to enter an email address associated with that artist, your name, role as it relates to the artist, and finally either link to the artist’s website or social networks.
In my experience, this can get resolved/approved very quickly if you add the email address you just associated with that artist (NOT the email address of your Spotify for Artist profile) to very visible spots on the front page of your website, SoundCloud profile, etc.
After receiving a couple messages from Spotify saying they needed more proof to verify I was in charge of that artist (which I can appreciate), I went ahead and added the email address as I just mentioned and mailed them back and it was all resolved start to finish in about an hour.
Setting Up Your Spotify Artist Profile
Once you’re verified, you can log in to your profile on demand and:
Write an Artist Bio
While some artists choose to largely eschew the artist bio in favor of (presumably) just letting their music speak for themselves, a short bio helps new listeners learn more about you, like the names and roles of the members of the group, where you’re from, when you formed, the type of music you make, any new releases you’re highlighting, etc.
You can also link to music within Spotify, as well, like your latest release.
Add a Profile Picture and a Header Image
Part of your profile includes uploading a custom profile picture. If you haven’t claimed your profile yet or neglect to upload a custom image, Spotify typically chooses the cover art for whatever your most played release is as your profile picture.
The header image will be left blank (just a generic gradient/color) until you upload one.
You can see all of the ideal image sizes from Spotify themselves at https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/artist-image-guidelines/, including additional images you add to the gallery.
Specifically, the profile picture should be at least 750px x 750px and the header should be at least 2660px x 1140px and it shouldn’t be used to promote upcoming releases.
While what makes a great profile picture or header image is debatable, I do recommend that you keep consistency in using the same images between your Spotify for Artists profile and any and all social media sites you use as this makes everything look more up to date and professional.
For what it’s worth, on the same overall page (About) you can add a link to a fundraiser for a specific cause or even a link where fans can support your music financially.
Add Social Media Links
Speaking of social media, you can add links to your Artist Profile on Spotify for a set selection of social media links you want to promote (you can also add a Wikipedia page if you have one):
Stick to social media sites you regularly post to and no something you haven’t updated in months or years.
Use Artist Pick
You can highlight anything in particular related to your music that you want to draw extra attention to by choosing it for your current “Artist Pick”:
You get 38 characters to write what you want about whatever it is you’re promoting.
This can be a song or album of yours, but it doesn’t have to be music related. You can also call out an upcoming concert date(s), new merch, etc.
Speaking of merch…
Add Shopify for Merch
If you’ve got merchandise, connect your Shopify profile as this not only helps you sell merch, it makes your profile page look better, more professional, and raises your profile as a successful and proper artist for those who look at your profile.
Add a Custom Playlist
While the music on your Spotify page will always be sorted by popularity and most plays (or rather the most played tracks as of late) showing first, you can put together a custom playlist.
This is good for new and existing listeners alike who appreciate this personal touch of you sharing the songs you care about and want to share the most with your listeners.
Final Thoughts on Spotify For Artists
As you can see, it doesn’t take much time to claim and then set up your artist profile which becomes your hub and home base for everything related to your music on the biggest music streaming service in the world.
Aside from everything else I already covered, you can ensure the proper lyrics are showing and syncing up in time to your songs, see real time analytics on your music to see how different songs are performing, etc. The latter is essential in gauging the efficacy of any and all marketing efforts you’re engaging in, as well.
It’s well worth it to set up your artist profile on Spotify as not only does it add credibility to you as an artist, but anyone who listens to your music whether it’s their first time or they’re in the top 1% of your listeners, they can use your artist page to learn more about and get closer to you, grab some merch, or even learn where they can catch you live, further adding to their fandom and your efforts to growing your name.
