Spotify Canvas gives artists another way to add personality to a song without creating an entire music video.

A Spotify Canvas is a short vertical visual that loops behind a track in the Now Playing view on the Spotify mobile app. It replaces the album artwork while the listener is viewing the song.

The idea is simple: give people something visual that complements the music without distracting from it.

What are the Spotify Canvas requirements?

Spotify currently requires a Canvas to be:

• 3 to 8 seconds long
• vertical with a 9:16 ratio
• between 720 and 1080 pixels tall
• an MP4 or JPG file

You can add a Canvas to released music or an upcoming track that Spotify has already received.

That means you do not have to wait until release day to get the visual ready.

Who can add a Canvas?

Canvas is managed through Spotify for Artists, Spotify’s dashboard for artists and their teams.

Spotify currently allows a Canvas to be added when the user has the appropriate Admin or Editor access and the artist is the first main artist on the track or a main artist on both the track and release.

If you do not have Spotify for Artists access yet, our Spotify for Artists setup guide explains how to get started.

How to add a Spotify Canvas on desktop

1. Log in to Spotify for Artists.
2. Open Music.
3. Select the track.
4. Click Add Canvas.
5. Upload the visual.
6. Preview it and publish.

You can also replace a Canvas later, so you are not permanently committed to the first one you upload.

How to add a Spotify Canvas on mobile

1. Open the Spotify for Artists app.
2. Tap Music.
3. Select the track.
4. Tap Edit Canvas.
5. Upload the visual and publish it.

The process is simple. Making a Canvas that actually looks good takes a little more thought.

Make the loop feel intentional

Three to eight seconds is not much time.

Instead of chopping a random piece out of a longer music video, think about what will still look good after it repeats over and over.

Spotify suggests several approaches:

• a seamless continuous loop
• a deliberate hard cut
• a rebound that plays forward and then backward

Animations, moving artwork, performance footage and original video can all work.

The goal is not to cram an entire story into eight seconds.

Give the song a visual identity.

Remember that people are watching on a phone

Canvas uses a vertical screen, and different phones can crop the edges slightly.

So keep important visual information away from the extreme edges of the frame.

Spotify also recommends avoiding rapid cuts and intense flashing imagery. A loop that becomes exhausting after the third repeat is probably not helping the song.

Likewise, footage of somebody singing or rapping directly to camera may feel strange because the Canvas does not synchronize with the song.

You probably do not need the artist and song title

The listener is already inside Spotify.

They can see the artist and song information in the Now Playing view.

As a result, you usually do not need to spend valuable Canvas space repeating the artist name or song title.

Let the visual do something the rest of the screen is not already doing.

Do not turn Canvas into an advertisement

Spotify specifically says Canvas should enhance the artistic experience rather than act as a promotional billboard.

Avoid using it to:

• send people to a website
• promote a ticket vendor
• ask people to follow or like you on social media
• advertise unrelated music or products
• promote contests or sweepstakes

Text can work when it genuinely belongs with the visual and the song, but the image should remain the focus.

You also need to have the rights or permission required for anything you upload.

Connect the Canvas to the larger release

A Canvas does not have to live by itself.

You can connect the visual style to the album artwork, artist photos, music video or other parts of the release campaign.

If several songs belong to the same project, the Canvases can even share a visual language while still giving each track something different.

That can make the entire release feel more intentional without requiring a completely separate video concept for every song.

Canvas can travel beyond Spotify

When listeners share a Spotify track to Instagram Stories, the Canvas can appear behind the song information with a link back to Spotify.

That gives the visual another opportunity to travel with the music instead of staying entirely inside the Spotify app.

If you are deciding how Instagram fits into the rest of your campaign, our Instagram for musicians guide covers the platform in more detail.

Watch the Canvas data

Spotify for Artists includes Canvas view statistics.

Spotify counts a Canvas view when somebody opens the Now Playing view and sees the Canvas. It counts no more than one Canvas view per stream.

Interestingly, Canvas views can sometimes be higher than Spotify’s stream count because Spotify does not count a stream until the listener reaches its qualifying listening threshold.

Do not obsess over the number by itself.

Instead, use it as another piece of information about how listeners are interacting with the track.

Canvas is not an algorithm hack

Adding a Canvas gives the song another visual element. It does not automatically boost the track in Spotify’s recommendation system.

So use Canvas because it improves the listener experience, gives the release another creative element and can make social sharing more visually interesting.

Those are already good reasons.

You do not need to invent another one.

Keep it simple

A good Canvas does not need a giant production budget.

Start with a strong visual that fits the song. Make sure it loops well. Keep it readable on a phone. Avoid turning it into an advertisement.

Then upload it and move on with the rest of the release campaign.

Eight seconds is plenty of time to add something interesting.

It is also plenty of time to overthink it.