How To Upload Music to Spotify

Find out how to upload music to Spotify and how to set up a Spotify for Artist profile. Make your music accessible to millions of listeners and reach fans where they listen, with full control over your royalties and rights.

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Getting Music On Spotify

With more than 690 million users, Spotify has established itself as one of the most widely used audio streaming services worldwide. It is known for its large catalog of music, wide range of features designed for music discovery, and a variety of tools that help artists promote their releases and manage their presence on the platform.

But how do you upload music to Spotify? Since the platform does not have direct deals with independent artists and labels, you need to go through a digital music distributor like iMusician. With us, you can easily get your music on Spotify and make it available to millions of listeners in just a few simple steps.

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How To Upload Music To Spotify With iMusician

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Start a Release

Open the iMusician Dashboard. Click on ‘Start a Release’ to choose the single, EP, or album you would like to upload to Spotify.

Dark interface showing "Release artwork" upload dialog with empty gray upload area, white arrow icon, and thumbnail gallery below.

Upload Your Files

Upload your music files and cover artwork. Keep in mind that Spotify has specific guidelines and technical requirements that you need to consider when uploading your music.

For instance, you should deliver your music files in WAV format due to its lossless, uncompressed nature and high fidelity. Moreover, you can only upload songs you own the master recording rights to. If your song contains samples, you need the permission and licenses from the copyright holders before releasing the track you created using portions of their work.

Be sure to upload your artwork with the dimensions 3000 x 3000 pixels. Check the specifications for your artwork, and only use images and designs you have the right to.

Dark gray form with input fields for release name, artist details, and label. Question mark icons on right side. "Add" and "Add label" buttons visible.

Add All Data

Type in all relevant information about your release.

Make sure your name is spelled correctly so your music doesn’t appear on another artist’s profile. With iMusician you can directly give your Artist URI or, in case you still don’t have one, we can create it for you.

Add all music contributors and bandmates so they get their share of the royalties when your songs are streamed. This includes the first and last names of all contributors.

Green rounded button with "DONE!" text in dark letters, white cursor arrow pointing at it, on black background.

Submit Your Project

Our Quality & Assurance team will check your release and contact you directly if anything needs to be corrected. Once approved, your music will become available on Spotify on your desired release date.

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iMusician Doesn’t Stop At Spotify

Reach global audiences on 200+ music platforms and get heard where it matters.

Why Use iMusician To Upload Music To Spotify

Release Your Music Globally

With iMusician, you can get your music on 200+ platforms, from major services to niche shops. Reach fans where they listen in just a few steps.

Endless Releases, Zero Commission

We offer a comprehensive package, from music releases to promotional content, with zero commission on your streaming and download revenue.

Forever Online Distribution

Once you’ve released your music, it will remain online forever, even if the status of your plan changes. No need to worry about annual fees.

Full Control Over Your Music

We offer numerous tools to manage your music in one place. Enjoy music distribution with full flexibility and control over your music.

Your Sound, Your Rights

With iMusician, your music and money are securely protected at all times. We’re just here to help you share it with the world.

Get Your Music on Playlists

Let your music speak for itself. Submit your tracks and let our team pitch them to editorial playlists—giving you a shot at reaching a wider audience.

Support in Your Language

Got a question? We're here to help. With personalized support available in six languages, our team is just an email or call away.

Royalties Made Easy

Revenue Splits helps you easily track, manage, and distribute earnings among all your collaborators without the hassle of manual calculations.

Why iMusician?

What is Spotify?

Spotify is a digital streaming service that provides access to a large catalog of music, podcasts, and videos. Launched in 2006 in Sweden, the company first expanded to the United Kingdom and the United States before gradually becoming available in markets across the world. Since then, it has grown into one of the most widely used audio streaming platforms worldwide.

In 2018, Spotify made its debut on the New York stock market with a share price set at $165.90. The company was then valued at $29.5 billion. In June 2020, the music streaming site’s value went up to $44.96 billion. According to Semrush data, Spotify ranked as the 47th most-visited website globally in 2023, with nearly a quarter of its traffic coming from the United States. Its rapid growth is also reflected in its user base, which increased from 456 million monthly active users in 2022 to more than 690 million in 2025.

Spotify offers three subscription models that build on its free, ad-supported version. Its premium options include ad-free listening, offline access to downloaded tracks, and additional features such as unlimited skips and higher audio quality.

The platform is recognized for its music discovery tools, including artist, album, and song radios, curated playlists, and algorithm-driven, personalized recommendations and playlists that adapt to individual listening habits. These features are designed to help users explore new music and stay up to date with the latest releases of their favorite artists.

In 2018, Spotify launched Spotify for Artists, an online tool to help artists and record labels manage and customize their profiles on the service. Let’s take a closer look at Spotify for Artists and what makes the platform significant for musicians.

+ 100 M
Available Tracks
+ 696 M
Monthly Users
+ 180
Countries
25.000
Streams to Earn $100

What Are the Benefits of Spotify for Artists?

Spotify’s relevance is primarily rooted in its widespread use and reach. With millions of active users, it’s likely that a significant part of your audience already relies on it as their go-to streaming service.

Through Spotify for Artists, you can manage your presence on Spotify and promote their work more effectively. The platform lets you customize your artist page, add a biography, images, and links to your social channels, and announce your upcoming tour dates.

It also allows you to access detailed audience insights to better understand your listeners’ demographics and see where your music performs best. Finally, having an official, verified artist profile opens the door to playlist features and pitching new releases to curators.

How to Get Access to Spotify for Artists

To claim your Spotify for Artists page, you first need to upload at least one song to the platform through an approved distributor. Once your music is live, you can begin the process of claiming your artist profile.

Head over to the ‘Get started’ section on the Spotify for Artists website and find the ‘Access your profile’ button, or click on the following link: https://artists.spotify.com/claim.

Next, click on ‘Artist or manager’ (or ‘Label team member’) and log in to your Spotify account. Locate your artist profile by searching for your artist name or by entering your unique Spotify Artist URI, which you can access through your distributor.

You can then submit a request to claim your profile and will likely be asked to verify your identity by linking to your social media profiles or website. If anyone on your team already has admin access, they can also invite you directly. Once submitted, your request will be reviewed within a few days.

After approval, you’ll receive a verification badge and be able to access the Spotify for Artists dashboard. There, you can customize your page with a bio, profile images, links to socials, tour dates, and more. You’ll also unlock analytics and tools like playlist pitching or Marquee promotions.

FAQs

No. As an independent artist or label, you can only upload your song to Spotify through a distributor.

Music distributors act as intermediaries between artists and streaming platforms. They handle the technical, legal, and administrative aspects of getting your music online to make sure your tracks meet platform requirements and comply with copyright and metadata standards.

Additionally, royalties can only be collected from music that has been delivered through an official distributor like iMusician. Once your music is confirmed to be eligible for monetization, it's registered properly and tracked for royalty reporting. Your payouts are then sent from the platforms to us, and from us to you.

The costs of uploading music to Spotify differ from distributor to distributor.

At iMusician, we offer three subscription plans that include a range of features such as promotional tools, online mastering, and forever online distribution, among other things. You can also choose our pay-as-you-go option ($9 per release) if you want to try out our services before opting for a plan.

Explore our plans, features, and pricing in more detail here.

Once you’ve submitted your release to your distributor, it can take up to two weeks for it to go online on Spotify. If you need to make your project available sooner, check if your music distributor offers express delivery options.

With iMusician, you can speed up the distribution to one-week or 48-hour delivery.

Yes, you can earn money on Spotify through the streams your music generates. Based on our estimates, you need around 25.000 streams to make $100 on Spotify. Royalty payments are managed by your music distributor.

It’s important to note that Spotify and all legitimate music distributors closely follow rules regarding streams. At the center of these rules is the requirement that streams must be organic to qualify for monetization.

Spotify uses advanced technology to detect non-organic streams, meaning that any streams bought from third-party services to artificially boost numbers will not be monetized. There can also be serious consequences, such as fees or, in the worst case, removal of your music and artist profile or account.

Read more about the consequences of buying fake streams.

Spotify pays around $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, placing the average payout at $0.004. That said, the payout can vary depending on factors like your distributor’s terms and where your listeners are located.

At that rate, you'd need roughly:

250 streams to earn $1
2.500 streams to earn $10
25.000 streams to earn $100

You can promote music on Spotify via Spotify for Artists.

Once you’ve uploaded your music to the platform and claimed your artist profile, you can upload images to your Spotify profile, edit your bio, add links to your socials, and start pitching songs to Spotify’s playlist curators.

There are different ways to get your music on a Spotify playlist. You can either submit it to Spotify’s editorial team via Spotify for Artists or pitch it to curators of established playlists. If your promotional efforts are strong and your music is performing well, it might also get picked up by Spotify’s algorithm.

Ready to give it a try? Submit your music to one of our playlists!

Spotify is available in over 180 markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania. You can find the full list of countries in Spotify’s article on the platform’s availability.

Yes, you can release song covers on Spotify, as long as you pay attention to a few things.

First, it is crucial to understand what exactly a cover version of a song is. If you perform an already existing song while keeping the lyrics, melody, and arrangement identical to the original, it counts as a cover version. As soon as you change the lyrics, melody, or basic arrangement, the song is not considered a cover any longer. Instead, it becomes an adaptation or an edit that needs the clearance of the songwriters.

If the songwriters are not from the United States, you can publish your release freely. However, the rightholders of the original always reserve the right to request the removal of your cover version.

The situation is more formalized if the songwriters are from the United States. In this case, you will need to obtain a compulsory license from a collecting society (e.g. Songfile) with payments based on the number of units sold or streams played.

Yes, you can put remixes on Spotify, as long as you pay attention to a few guidelines.

Your track will be considered a remix if you have used parts of an original recording or the entire track. If the original song is not yours, you’ll need to obtain the authorization of the copyright owners of the original version (author, composer, publisher) and the authorization of those who own the audio recording of the original (usually the record label that produced the track).

For example, if you want to upload your own interpretation of Lady Gaga's song “Shallow” or a remix of “Old Town Road”, it is technically possible if you’ve received the permission of the original’s rightsholders beforehand.

To get lyrics on Spotify, you need to submit them through your music distributor or a lyrics delivery service like Musixmatch or LyricFind. These platforms partner with streaming services like Spotify to display synced and unsynced lyrics alongside your tracks. Once submitted and approved, your lyrics will show up in the Spotify app when fans listen to your songs.

You can upload 8-second visual loops (‘Canvas’) to each individual track directly in the Spotify for Artists dashboard. You can find the option under the “Music” tab when editing a track’s details.

Although Spotify is a platform for artistic expression, there are certain guidelines that must be adhered to. For instance, content that incites hatred or violence against individuals or communities has no place on the platform (or any platform for that matter).

Moreover, Spotify pays close attention to removing content that is protected by copyright or royalties. This includes copyrighted tracks that are published without the consent of the copyright holders, or tracks that contain samples that have not been cleared in advance.