Spotify Canvas: size, length and requirements

The requirements at a glance

Spotify can change these, so check the current guidelines in Spotify for Artists before you upload. Every Canvas we deliver follows the specs in force at the time.

What Spotify recommends

• Footage without talking, singing or rapping: a loop of a few seconds will not stay in sync with the lyrics.
• No rapid cuts or intense flashing, which can overwhelm the viewer.
• Keep what matters away from the edges, which some phones cut off.
• Consider leaving out the song and artist name: they already show in the Now Playing view.

How to add a Canvas to a track

1. Log in to Spotify for Artists at artists.spotify.com.
2. Open Music and choose the track.
3. Click Add Canvas and upload the file. In the Spotify for Artists app: the Music tab, the track, then the Canvas edit button.

Spotify allows this for the first main artist on the track, the main artist on both the track and the release, or team members with Admin or Editor access. You can add a Canvas to upcoming releases too, so it can be ready on release day.

Making it loop well

A Canvas plays again and again, so the loop is the design. In our studio we start and end on the same frame so the seam disappears, and we keep the motion slow and continuous: in 8 seconds, one clear movement reads better than many cuts.

Building the Canvas from the cover helps fans recognise the release. It is how we make our animated covers: the cover art itself, with light, depth and motion.

Canvas, animated cover and Apple Music motion

The same artwork often needs three moving versions. A Canvas for Spotify (vertical, 3 to 8 seconds), an animated cover for Instagram Stories and Reels, and motion artwork for Apple Music, which uses its own sizes and lengths. See our guide to Apple Music motion artwork.