spotify game Archives - Haulix Daily

There are going to be a lot more looping videos on Spotify in the near future, and that’s good news for everyone.

Spotify is taking further steps to empower artists on its platform. This week, the streaming giant is expanding its Canvas visualization beta program to more of the ‘most active Spotify for Artists’ users. The company claims that adding a ‘high-quality [clip] to a track can increase streams, saves, artist profile visits, and shares.’

Canvas allows artists to create and feature looping visuals in the “Now Playing” area, which Spotify says is the most-viewed location in the Spotify mobile app. The clips last 3-8 seconds and can be updated as often as the artist desires. Here’s a Canvas clip in action for reference:

According to Spotify, “adding a high-quality Canvas to a track has increased streams by up to 120% and saves by up to 114%, in addition to lifts in artist profile visits and shares.”

The company adds, “It’s a way to get noticed and build a vision — and an excellent way to share more of who you are with your listeners, hopefully turning them into fans.”

But what makes a Canvas good, and how can artists on tight budgets compete with stylized visuals major labels can provide? Here are some tips to get you started:

Vertical video is king

Canvas uploads will be viewed by people holding their devices as they use the Spotify app. With this in mind, make sure the clips you upload are formatted for a vertical video presentation.

Do not use your song title or artist name

That information is already present on the screen. There is something to be said for emphasizing your branding, of course, but Canvas is not the place to make that a priority. Canvas uploads should reflect the aesthetic of your music. Think of it as an extension of the music itself. It’s an expression of who you are as an artist, and you shouldn’t waste the limited space available to you with restating information that is already clearly available on the screen.

Avoid footage with talking, singing, or rapping.

Canvas clips are 3-8 seconds in length. If your clip features mouths moving they will rarely, if ever, sync up with the music. That could distract people, which in turn will make them lose interest in the song.

Keep rapid cuts and flashing graphics to a minimum.

There are a number of people with sensitivities to strobe lights, as well as people who feel overwhelmed by quick edits. You want your Canvas to be as appealing as possible to as many people as possible, so try to avoid anything that might make people sick or otherwise uncomfortable.

Try telling a (very short) story.

3-8 seconds is not very long, but there are many ways to make something that grabs and holds listeners’ attention in that amount of time. After all, .gifs are equally as short and they’re widely considered currency in internet culture. Take up the challenge of creating content that seamlessly loops, or perhaps string together all the Canvas clips for your album to tell a single story. Think outside the box. Be weird.

People love a theme.

If storytelling is not your strength, try using canvas to tie your music together with a theme. Pull from your artwork or branding to create visuals that leave a lasting impression on viewers. For example, if you have flowers on your cover art, try using flowers throughout the Canvas loops created for the individual tracks.

Focus on the middle.

What people see at the edge of your Canvas clip will depend on the device they are using to view the loop. With this in mind, keep the most important content of your video centered in the frame. That way, everyone who views the clip is guaranteed to see what you created in full.

Update often.

Canvas loops should not be considered a one and done scenario. Some artists have found success by changing their loops every week, while others rotate visuals on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. Keep listeners on their toes by giving them new content to discover on a regular basis.

Don’t be an idiot.

People of all ages, genders, and ethnicities use Spotify to discover music. Creating Canvas clips containing violence, sex, or anything insensitive will get your content pulled and limit the potential reach of your music. In certain cases, Spotify may even delete your account.

Spotify has changed the music business in many ways, including a few that you may have never considered.

There are many streaming services in the world, but none of them can compare to the size and influence of Spotify. With more than one-hundred million subscribers, the Swedish based company has nearly double the audience of its closest competitor (Apple Music). The company has grown so popular, in fact, that it has become a kind of shorthand for streaming music. People say, “Do you use Spotify,” instead of, “do you subscribe to a streaming music platform?”

Spotify has revolutionized how artists make money from their music. The company pays, on average, between $0.006 and $0.0084 per song stream. A single stream is counted when the listener has played thirty-seconds of the track. If the listener finishes the song, that’s great, but it doesn’t change the amount of money the stream earns for the artist.

With this in mind, it’s easy to understand why many industry experts claim Spotify has changed the sound of music. The ‘Spotify Sound,’ as it has been dubbed, refers to artists who waste no time getting to the heart of their song. The days of lengthy introductions or slow-burning tracks has been replaced by immediate choruses or other attention-grabbing tactics.

Another element of the ‘Spotify Sound’ is the length of a song, which again is a result of the company’s approach to compensating talent. If a play is counted after thirty-seconds of listening time, then artists are not incentivized to make longer songs. The more financially informed approach would be to record more material that is shorter, thus earning more money. A five-minute song earns as much as a two-minute song, but listeners can play multiple two-minute songs in the same amount of time, which means they can earn more money.

A glance at the Spotify and Billboard charts shows the impact of the company’s influence. “Old Town Road,” which has spent three months topping charts, is less than two minutes in length. The remix, which helped catapult the song into the pop stratosphere, runs just over two and a half minutes long.

Artists who have adapted to the influence of the ‘Spotify Sound’ are seeing success on the platform. In a recent digital feature from PBS, two members of the group Frenship credited their efforts to match the changing trends for the success they found with their hit “Capsize.” Check it out:

Other platforms have different rules for what counts as a play. Some services require a certain percentage of the song to be enjoyed before a play is counted, while others have a higher minimum for time spent listening. Both methods of counting plays encourage the same thing. Artists should make shorter, catchier songs if they want to earn big from streaming services.