Songwriters and artists looking to add a visual component to their music on Spotify will want to take a look at Canvas, a feature which allows recording artists to upload short 3-8 second visual loops to their songs. Spotify’s Canvas gets a profile boost today with the unveiling of the Canvas designer marketplace, which utilizes Spotify’s SoundBetter platform.
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We recently profiled Spotify’s SoundBetter, a service that helps artists find the right personnel to finish their music- be it a mixing engineering, producer, guitarist, etc. The new Canvas marketplace works the same way. Top visual artists are curated by SoundBetter’s team to help recording artists navigate the design process by giving them access to a curated marketplace of Canvas designers, all within a budget range that works for all involved.
According to the Canvas announcement, “we want to make it as easy as possible for artists to find visual artists to help them create eye-catching visuals. After selecting a designer, artists share details on the sonics of their track and their creative vision, which the designer then takes into account to create a custom Canvas tailored to meet their needs.”
Participating designers in the curated SoundBetter marketplace include Helen Ratner (FKA Twigs, Steve Aoki, Kanye West), Ian Eager (Lil Tecca, Pop Smoke, Lil Wayne), and WEWRKWKNDS (Zedd, Katy Perry, Billie Eillish), and many more experienced Canvas designers who already have a track record of success on Spotify.
Several features unique to Canvas, including moving album art format have helped artists better brand themselves with creative imaging, tease new projects, engage fans and more.
Spotify also shares data regarding songs using the Canvas visuals:
- 145% more likely to share the track
- 5% more likely to keep streaming
- 20% more likely to add the song to their personal playlists
- 9% more likely to visit an artists’ profile page
Spotify states Beck, for example, teamed up with NASA for his latest album, Hyperspace, and adorned his Canvases with visuals recorded on the space station. Shawn Mendes teased the tracklist to his forthcoming album by dropping song title hints via Canvas last week. And Billie Eilish recently refreshed her Canvases once a day for seven days, teasing previews of her new live show prior to it debuting on her livestream, The Billie Eilish Experience.
A full blog post from Spotify and SoundBetter has more information on the Canvas marketplace and services. https://canvas.spotify.com/en-us
