Spotify Canvas Size
A Spotify Canvas is a vertical 9:16 video or image, 3 to 8 seconds long, saved as an MP4 or JPG. Make it 1080 × 1920 pixels for the sharpest picture; 720 × 1280 is the smallest common size.
9:16 · 3–8 s · MP4 or JPG · 720 × 1280 to 1080 × 1920
Spotify Canvas specs and dimensions
What to use, beside the words in Spotify’s own Canvas guidelines.
| Spec | Use | Spotify says |
|---|---|---|
| Shape | 9:16, vertical | “Vertical 9:16 ratio” |
| Length | 3 to 8 seconds | “3-8 seconds long” |
| Size | 1080 × 1920 (best) or 720 × 1280 | “Between 720px - 1080px tall” |
| File | MP4 for a moving loop, JPG for a still | “An MP4 or JPG file” |
What “720px - 1080px tall” means
It’s the line people trip on, so here is how to read it.
Read word for word, Spotify’s guideline caps the height at 1080 pixels. But a 9:16 file that is 1080 pixels tall is only about 608 pixels wide, smaller than the usual sizes. In practice artists and canvas makers read the 720 and 1080 as the width, and export 720 × 1280 to 1080 × 1920.
A canvas guide on calvinwest.com reports that 1080 × 1920 “uploads without complaint” and looks best on a modern phone. We haven’t uploaded one ourselves, so treat that as their result, not a promise from Spotify. If an upload is refused, try 720 × 1280.
Check your file
Drop the MP4 or JPG you plan to upload. You’ll see its length, shape and size beside what a Canvas needs.
Drop or choose your Canvas
What a Canvas needs
- File
- MP4 or JPG
- Shape
- 9:16
- Size
- 720 × 1280 to 1080 × 1920
- Length
- 3 to 8 s
Your file stays on your computer. It’s read here, never uploaded.
Make one that loops
Spotify names three kinds of loop: a continuous loop with no seam, a hard cut, and a rebound that plays forward then back. These are continuous loops, made in the studio.
- 01
Open a canvas
The studio opens a 9:16 frame that is already a 7-second canvas loop. You can make it 5 to 8 seconds.
- 02
Make it yours
Pick colours that match your cover art, and a style: soft clouds, blurred stripes or rays of light. Calm motion suits a song playing in the background.
- 03
Export the MP4
Sign in with a free account for 720 × 1280, or use Pro for 1080 × 1920. The loop ends where it began, so it never jumps, and there is no end card.
Want a wider loop for a website or a slide? The same engine makes seamless gradient loops in any shape.
What to leave out
From Spotify’s guidelines and its content policy.
Talking or singing
A Canvas is only 3 to 8 seconds long, so it can’t keep up with the lyrics. Spotify suggests footage with no talking, singing or rapping.
Fast cuts and flashing
Spotify asks you to avoid rapid cuts and intense flashing graphics, because they may overwhelm the person watching.
Your song and artist name
Spotify already shows them in the Now Playing view, so it suggests leaving them out of the Canvas.
Links and promotion
Spotify’s Canvas content policy asks you to avoid website links, ticket sellers, follow or like requests, other brands, deals and its own logo. A Canvas used mainly to promote can be removed.
Anything at the very edge
Spotify warns that the edges may get cut off on some phones. Keep faces, logos and anything important toward the middle.
How to add it
From Spotify’s Adding a Canvas help page.
On the web: log in at artists.spotify.com, open Music, pick the track and click Add Canvas.
In the Spotify for Artists app: tap Music, pick the track and tap Canvas.
You need to be the first main artist on the track, or the main artist on both the track and the release, with the Admin or Editor role. It works on upcoming releases too.
Questions
How long is a Spotify Canvas?
What are the Spotify Canvas dimensions?
Can a Spotify Canvas be a JPG?
Who can add a Canvas?
Can I add a Canvas before the song comes out?
Why was my Canvas turned down?
Does the checker upload my file?
Can I make a Canvas here for free?
Make a canvas now
A 9:16 loop, 720 × 1280 free, 1080 × 1920 on Pro, no end card.