How to Make a Spotify Artist Account
There is no sign-up form. The profile is created by a release, and what you do is prove it is yours.
You cannot create one directly. An artist profile is generated when a distributor delivers your first release to Spotify, so the first step is getting music distributed.
Once the release is live, go to Spotify for Artists and request access to the profile. Spotify verifies the claim, usually by asking for a social account or through your distributor.
After approval you can edit the image, biography, pitch songs to playlists and see the listening data.
The order catches every new artist, because every other platform works the other way around.
On most networks you sign up and then publish. On Spotify the catalog comes first: a distributor sends the audio and the metadata, Spotify ingests it, and a profile is created as a container for that music. Before a release exists there is nothing to claim and nothing to log into.
That has two consequences worth planning around.
First, the artist name in the metadata of your first release becomes the profile. Getting it wrong, or letting a distributor attach the track to an existing artist with the same name, produces a mess that takes support tickets to untangle. Checking the artist link before the release date is far easier than fixing it afterwards.
Second, the claim is about identity rather than ownership of the recording. Spotify asks for something that connects you to the music publicly, which is why a dormant social account or an unfinished website slows the process down.
And Spotify for Artists is free. The paid part of being on Spotify is distribution, which is a separate service with its own fee or revenue share.
Getting the first release out
Spotify does not accept uploads directly from artists. A distributor or an aggregator delivers the music.
The metadata you give them is what creates or links the artist profile, so check the artist name spelling and any existing profile they want to attach it to.
Delivery takes time, and most distributors recommend submitting weeks ahead of the release date.
That lead time is also what makes a playlist pitch possible, since pitching requires an unreleased track.
Claiming the profile
Go to Spotify for Artists and request access, either directly or through your distributor's dashboard.
Spotify asks for verification, commonly a social account connected to the artist.
Approval times vary and the request can be resubmitted if it is refused.
Team members can be added afterwards with their own access, which is how managers and labels get in without sharing a login.
What the dashboard gives you
Listener and stream numbers, by track, by playlist and by source.
The ability to edit the profile image, the biography, the artist pick and the gallery.
Playlist pitching for unreleased tracks, which is the main editorial route into Spotify's own playlists.
And Canvas, the short looping visual that replaces the static artwork in the player.
Common problems
Music appearing under the wrong artist, which happens when a distributor matches a name to an existing profile.
Two profiles for the same artist, which requires a merge request through support.
A claim refused for want of verification, usually solved by connecting a social account with matching activity.
And a profile with no music, which cannot exist: if there is no release, there is nothing to claim.
After the profile exists
Fill the biography and the image. An empty profile converts a curious listener into nothing.
Pitch every release, early. The pitch is also how Spotify's systems learn what the track is.
Watch the sources data rather than the totals: where listening comes from tells you what to repeat.
And keep the distributor relationship tidy, because the catalog is delivered through them and leaving one can take the music with it.
Questions people ask about artist profiles
Can I upload music to Spotify myself?
No. Spotify takes music from distributors, and the artist profile is created when your first release is delivered.
Is Spotify for Artists free?
Yes. The cost of being on Spotify is the distributor's fee or revenue share, not the artist dashboard.
How long does claiming take?
It varies. Verification usually asks for a social account connected to the artist, and a refused request can be resubmitted.
My song is on the wrong artist profile. What now?
The distributor's metadata linked it incorrectly. They can request a correction, and Spotify support handles merges and splits.
Do I need a profile to pitch playlists?
Yes, and the track has to be unreleased at the time of the pitch, which is why distribution lead time matters.
Can a manager have access?
Yes. Team members can be added to Spotify for Artists with their own access rather than sharing a login.
Keep reading
- monthly listeners on an artist profile — A new profile is judged on one number before anybody presses play, and monthly listeners on an artist profile acts on it.
- what monthly listeners measure — The headline number has a specific definition, and what monthly listeners measure sets it out.
- getting on playlists — Pitching is the editorial route, and getting on playlists covers it along with the others.