Creative FAQ: We're here to help
The world of audio is an exciting place, so we completely understand if you're feeling a little overwhelmed with the opportunities audio provides. With a bit of luck, you might find what you're looking below. And if not, reach out, we don't bite.
What is Spotify for Creatives?
A creative place for creative people. Your go-to rulebook for creative advertising campaigns on Spotify, in the form of a website and a newsletter. The website and newsletter are a window into our creative toolkit and capabilities — with insights, inspiration, and guidance for how you can build your own campaigns with Spotify or on Spotify. Sign up, look around, get inspired, and reach out to us if you have any questions.
How can we work together?
We love a good jam sesh. Get in touch via your Spotify representative, with the following details: who your campaign is for, what you’re hoping to do with us, and why Spotify would be a great platform to partner with. (If you're part of a network agency, then we probably already work with you a lot. If so, let’s connect.)
What are the lead times for doing custom creative ad campaigns on Spotify?
If you’d like to utilise our production capabilities we ask that depending on the scope of the project, you give us anywhere from 8-10 weeks from signed ad spend paperwork to live.
I love Spotify, but I’m a paid subscriber. Where can I find the ad formats for Spotify?
Good question! You’re not used to seeing ads on Spotify, but the millions of people on our free experience are. All of our existing ad experiences can be found here.
What insights can you share with us about audience, artist and music trends?
We created the ‘Discovery tool,’ a self-service insight tool for you to understand fans and music on Spotify. Contact your Spotify representative for access. If you’re excited and want to find out what you can learn, start by looking at your own music behaviours at Spotify.me or our Interactive Demo.
That said, we are always sharing research studies and stories about how we understand people through music in our News & Insights section or our company blog For the Record — so check there for news, insights about our audience and overall trends.
I saw that cool campaign where Spotify analysed cities listening, can you help me know what pops in specific markets?
Definitely. When you have access to our streaming intelligence, we can share genres that are resonating with listeners in cities all over the world.
Spotify codes are cool, how do I get one?
Yes they are! Imagine if QR codes were cool and tied to a platform that everyone used...Ta-da! That’s Spotify codes. You can easily generate a code for your creative by following all the guidelines here.
How do you find the right music for the right brand?
Every swipe, search, skip and shuffle tells us a story about streaming behaviours, but we also look at music behaviour, with our team categorising over 3,000+ microgenres to help amplify the streaming intelligence. We use this to understand which genres and artists are trending with different listeners. Then, we can recommend genres and artists that your target audience actually loves.
Can my brand make their own profile and curate playlists?
Hundo P. (100% yes.) Playlists give brands a perfect opportunity to build a presence on Spotify and define their voice through music. Check out our terms of use to make sure you’re protecting your brand or client when you play DJ for them.
If agencies or clients have an existing artist partnership, can they amplify that on Spotify?
Please do. Are you capturing audio or video content featuring the artist? Consider creating :30 spots to run as Spotify ads. Is your artist brand ambassador booked for a press day? Invite them to record some customised audio spots to repurpose as brand media on Spotify, or have them curate a playlist on your brand’s behalf. Feel free to get in touch with us about the artist and brand opportunity you have; there are some guidelines that we must adhere to but nothing to limit creativity.
What kind of bespoke experiential solutions do you do?
Discovery is a core part of Spotify, and we’re at our best when we’re offering intimate moments of discovery to fans with the creators they love. Reach out to tell us what type of event you’re looking to partner on and we’ll make some intimate magic happen. We’ll update the inspiration section as more come to life.
Who are our day-to-day contacts on your team?
We have a team of agency leads, they’re awesome. Get in touch via our contact form and we’ll connect you with the right person in your area.
Doesn’t Spotify have an open API? Can we create any of these custom experiences on our own or do we need to work directly with Spotify?
Spotify does have an open API. Spotify has preferred production partners who are savvy in our API and we can work with you to guide and build these together — produced and promoted through a media buy.
The Spotify platform looks nice, but we want to change the colours. Can we hack the Spotify UX? And make it pink for our brand?
That’s a no-go. We have an established look and feel for Spotify that resonates with our audience and we want to make sure that your brand looks its very best in this space.
Can we pitch our brand to be a part of Spotify brand campaigns like Wrapped?
At the moment, no. The listener is our first priority, so if we find a way to improve the experience, you’ll be the first to know. We do have co-marketing opportunities as Spotify though, get in touch if you’d like to understand more.
How do we get an original track on Spotify?
Getting your music on Spotify is easy. If you have a label or aggregator, they’ll get your music on Spotify for you. If you don't, we have deals in place with a number of companies who can deliver your music to us and collect royalties for you.
These services handle the licensing and distribution of your music and also pay you royalties when your fans stream your music on Spotify. There’s usually a small fee or percentage cut involved. Each service is unique, so be sure to do a little homework before picking one.
How do we get an original podcast on Spotify?
Sharing your podcast on Spotify gives you access to millions of Spotify listeners globally across desktop, Android and iOS devices. If you host your podcast with one of our aggregator partners, you can easily submit your podcast to Spotify in minutes. Please follow the instructions below:
- Anchor
- Audioboom
- Backtracks
- Blubbry
- Buzzsprout
- Castos
- Fireside
- LibSyn
- Omny
- Pinecast
- Pippa
- PodBean
- Podcaster.de
- Podiant
- Podigee
- Podomatic
- Simplecast
- Spreaker
- Transistor
- Whooshkaa
If you host with Acast, Art19, Cast Plus, Ausha or Zencast reach out to your aggregator for more information on how you can authorise Spotify as an additional distribution platform. If you are not hosted on one of the platforms listed above but want to request your podcast be added to the platform, check out Spotify For Podcasters.
I heard that Spotify can be streamed from basically any device. I’m particularly interested in smart speakers, wearables, in car, etc. Do you have a list of all of those devices?
It’s true! Spotify is basically everywhere. Check out a comprehensive list here.
What if my question wasn’t asked or answered, or I have more questions?
Reach out to us, we’ll see what we can do to help.