Spotify Codes Archives - Haulix Daily

Spotify promo cards make it easy for creators everywhere to make eye-catching sharable content that brings more listeners to their content.

Starting today, creators — both musical artists and podcasters — can easily generate Spotify promo cards to share with their fans on social media. Available through Spotify for Artists and Spotify for Podcasters microsites, creators can customize and share graphics featuring their artist profile, track, album, podcast, or episode. Additionally, the sites will allow creators to download special promo cards to share when they’ve been added to any of 33 of Spotify’s most popular music & podcast playlists.

The microsite for artists is HERE and the one for podcasters is HERE. The feature is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German at launch. More language options are expected in the months to come.

A post on the Spotify For Artists blog outlines how the new tool works:

Introducing Promo Cards, easily customizable graphics that you can create to share with your fans to promote yourself, your songs, your album, or when you’re featured on some of our most popular playlists*. All you have to do is go to artists.spotify.com/promocards to get started. There’s no log-in required and the site is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. Once you’re there, you can create your custom Promo Cards in three simple steps:
SELECT: Search for the content you want to promote. You can share your artist profile, a track, or an album. If one of your songs has been playlisted, you’ll see the option to share a customized Promo Card in the search results for the track.
CUSTOMIZE: How do you want fans to see the image? Will it be square, horizontal, or portrait? You can choose the aspect ratio and background color from a palette of complementary options.
SHARE: Download your new creation and upload it wherever you like with the link to your content the site generates. You can also choose one of the direct share options on the site to post it to social media.
Now, without having to spend time resizing and cropping you’ve created something fans can share to help spread the word about you and your music. And if you’re a podcaster (or if you guest on a podcast you want to help promote), we have Spotify for Podcasters Promo Cards available too.

*Playlists eligible for Promo Cards: African Heat, Are & Be, Esquenta Sertanejo, Exitos Espana, Fresh Finds, Future Hits Latin, Hot Country, Hot Hits Australia, Hot Hits Canada, Hot Hits UK, Indigo, Just Good Music, Lorem, Mansion Reggaeton, Modus Mio, mint, Most Necessary, New Boots, New Music Friday, RADAR, Pegao, POLLEN, Pop Rising, Rap Caviar, Rock This, Roots Rising, The New Alt, The Newness, Today’s Top Hits, Top Hits Deutschland, Top Hits Portugal, Viva Latino

Podcasters will follow similar steps for content creation.

All you have to do is go to podcasters.spotify.com/promocards to get started. There’s no log-in required and the site is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German. Once you’re there, you can create your custom Promo Cards in three simple steps:

SELECT: Search for the content you want to promote. You can share your show’s profile or an episode. If one of your episodes has been playlisted, you’ll see the option to share a customized Promo Card in the search results for the show or episode.

CUSTOMIZE: How do you want listeners to see the image? Will it be square, horizontal, or portrait? You can choose the aspect ratio and background color from a palette of complementary options.

SHARE: Download your new creation and upload it wherever you like with the link to your content the site generates. You can also choose one of the direct share options on the site to post it to social media.

Now, without having to spend time resizing and cropping, you’ve created something listeners can share to help spread the word about your podcast. And if you’re an artist (or if you guest on a podcast you want to help promote), we have Spotify for Artists Promo Cards available too.

*Playlists eligible for Promo Cards: Best Podcasts of the Week, Brain Snacks, and Crime Scene

Spotify has resurrected QR Codes, but will anyone care?

Spotify has a pretty strong record so far in the music business. Apple Music may be able to claim exclusive content, but Spotify is by and large the leader of the subscription streaming revolution. Nearly every single change and improvement the platform has made has been heralded as a smart decision, but their latest tool for sharing may fall short.

Spotify Codes, which the company has also called Spotify Scannables, are an updated take on QR Codes. The classic square appearance has been replaced by a soundwave-like bar code, but the functionality is the same. To use the code, go to your Spotify app, click the search button, and you’ll see a camera icon in the search bar. Hover the camera over the code and the linked music should appear automatically.

The question is not if this tool works, as it most certainly does, but whether or not consumers will embrace them. As we have written in the past, the only notable QR Code driven campaigns to date have come from major brands who were able to mass produce the codes and market their availability. Small campaigns, like those run by independent artists promoting music or gigs, have for more mixed results.

After all, this tool may be useful, but still involves switching to your camera app, which is what people didn’t like about QR codes in the first place. It adds an extra step to discovery that is just as long – if not longer – than typing something into a search box.

The good news here is that Spotify appears to be recognizing the value of the numerous independent artists around the globe who rely on their service to make money off their music. Tools like Spotify Codes show a desire to empower people to share music, which in turn helps artists.

Spotify Codes are now available to all users.

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know has found success in QR code marketing, please email james@haulix.com and share your story.