Open any song on the Spotify mobile app and look at the screen while it plays. Some songs just show the cover art. Others have a short moving loop behind them: a dupatta in the wind, a tractor kicking up dust, diyas flickering in a temple courtyard. That loop is a Canvas, and most of the independent artists we work with at RMX still haven't added one.
It's free, it takes about ten minutes once the release is live in your Spotify for Artists account, and you don't need a film crew. The same goes for Artist Pick, the slot at the top of your profile. Countdown Pages are a bit harder to get, because Spotify only gives them to some artists and some releases. This guide covers all three, using what Spotify's own help pages say as of November 2026, plus what we've seen when helping Haryanvi, Bhojpuri and devotional artists set them up.
One quick update first. If you've read older blogs telling you to upload "Clips", that feature is gone. Spotify's Clips help page says new Clips uploads stopped on 17 June 2026. Old ones stay live. Spotify says it is gradually giving eligible artists the option to upload full-length videos instead, and it will tell you when your account has it.
Before you start: your account role
Everything below happens inside Spotify for Artists. You need to have claimed your profile, and your role on the team has to be Admin or Editor. A Reader can't make changes. If a relative or old manager set up the profile, ask them to change your role first. We covered claiming in our Spotify for Artists guide.
1. Canvas: the loop behind your song
Spotify's Canvas guidelines are short, and the upload fails if your file is even slightly off. Your Canvas must be:
- 3 to 8 seconds long
- Vertical, 9:16
- Between 720 px and 1080 px tall
- An MP4 video or a JPG image
To upload on the web, go to artists.spotify.com, open Music, pick the track and click Add Canvas. In the Spotify for Artists phone app it's Music, then your track, then Canvas. According to Spotify's upload page, you can add one to any track, including releases that haven't come out yet. Only the first main artist on the track, or a main artist on both the track and the release, can do it.
A few things we've learned from watching uploads go wrong:
Export at 1080 x 1920 and trim to 7 seconds. Many phone editors save an 8.2 second clip when you think it's 8. Seven seconds gives you margin. If CapCut or InShot adds an outro or watermark, remove it.
Don't use singing footage. The loop won't line up with the lyrics, so a mouth moving out of sync looks wrong. Spotify says the same thing. Pick a mood shot instead. For a Rajasthani folk song, a slow pan across a mirror-work ghaghra works better than the singer's face.
Keep text off it. Your song name and artist name already show on the screen. Spotify's content policy also says no website links, no "follow me on Instagram", no brand logos and no contest promos. A Canvas with your phone number for bookings will likely get removed. We've seen artists try exactly that.
Watch the edges. Different phones crop the sides differently, so keep the important part in the centre.
Use what you already shot. If you made a music video for YouTube, a 6-second piece of it, cropped vertical, is enough. A Bhojpuri artist we work with used a single shot from the song's shoot of the river ghat at dusk, slowed down a little. It took him five minutes.
One extra reason to bother: when a listener shares your song to Instagram Stories from Spotify, the Canvas plays in the background of that Story with a "Play on Spotify" link, as shown on Spotify's Canvas page. Plain cover art doesn't get that motion.
2. Artist Pick: the slot at the top of your profile
Artist Pick is the box at the top of your Spotify profile. It's the first thing a new listener sees. According to Spotify's Artist Pick page, you can pin a song, album, music video, playlist, concert, merch item, or a podcast (podcasts only from the web).
To set it from the web: log in, click View Profile, click the plus sign under Artist Pick, then search for the item or paste its link. On the phone app, it's Profile, then the plus under Artist Pick.
You can also add an image and a short message. The image must be at least 690 x 500 px, in JPEG, GIF or PNG. The Pick stays up for 180 days unless you change it.
How we suggest using it:
- Release week: pin the new single with a one-line message in your own words, like "Naya gaana, Holi special" or "Pehli baar Haryanvi mein".
- Between releases: pin a playlist of your own songs in the order you want new listeners to hear them, with your strongest song first.
- Festival season: devotional artists can pin a Navratri or Sawan bhajan playlist about two weeks before the festival and switch it after.
Many artists set a Pick once and forget it. Then it quietly expires after 180 days, and the top of the profile goes back to empty. Put a reminder in your phone.
3. Countdown Pages: only for albums and EPs
A Countdown Page is a pre-release page on Spotify where fans can pre-save, see the tracklist, watch short countdown videos and buy merch. On release day, Spotify notifies everyone who pre-saved and adds the release to their library.
The rules are stricter here. Spotify's Countdown Pages guide says:
- You need at least 3,000 monthly active listeners. That's a separate number from monthly listeners. Check it under Audience, then Segments.
- Only new, original albums and EPs qualify. Singles don't. Deluxe editions, remasters, reissues and compilations don't either.
- If a release has more than one main artist, only the first-named main artist can create the page.
- Your distributor has to deliver the release to Spotify the normal way. The option shows up within 72 hours of delivery.
To set one up, open Music, then Upcoming, pick the release and click Get started. Add your countdown videos and any merch, then publish. Countdown videos have their own rules: vertical, with audio, longer than 3 seconds and shorter than 30, and at least 1280 x 720 px. No watermarks from other apps and no links to outside sites. All of it comes down on release day.
This is where planning matters. A Countdown Page is only useful if it runs for a few weeks. If you upload your EP three days before release, you'll barely have time to make the page, let alone collect pre-saves. Our release timeline guide explains how far ahead to deliver.
Most artists releasing one single a month won't qualify yet, and that's fine. Canvas and Artist Pick work for everyone. If you're planning a 5-song Haryanvi EP or a devotional album for Diwali next year, keep Countdown Pages in mind.
A ten-minute checklist for your next release
1. Confirm you're an Admin or Editor on your Spotify for Artists team. 2. Deliver the release early, so it shows under Upcoming. 3. Make a 7-second, 1080 x 1920 Canvas from footage you already have. No text, no lip-sync. 4. Upload it to the track before release day. 5. Pin the song as your Artist Pick with a short personal message and a 690 x 500 px or larger image. 6. If it's an album or EP and you have 3,000+ monthly active listeners, create a Countdown Page. 7. Pitch the song to editors at least seven days ahead. Our pitching guide shows how.
Where RMX comes in
All of this depends on your song reaching Spotify early with the right artist names in the right order. At RMX Music we deliver to 95+ platforms, Spotify included. You choose your release date, so the song can sit in Upcoming long enough for you to add a Canvas, set a Pick and pitch it. You keep 95% of your royalties.
The Label account is a one-time ₹4,500 for life, with unlimited releases and artists. Agents and people handling several labels can take the ₹15,000 lifetime Agent account. More than 3,000 artists and 2,200 labels have already sent over 20,000 tracks through us.
If your next song is ready, sign up on RMX Music and upload it a couple of weeks before release day. That gives you time to set all of this up.