New Spotify Beta Feature Allows Artists To Directly Upload Music For Free

On Thursday (Sept. 20), Spotify introduced a new feature that allows independent artists to upload music directly to Spotify, without the need for a label or third party. Spotify will allow artists to upload their content for free, with no fees or commissions no matter how frequent you release music.

The new method would effectively allow independent, copyright-owning artists to bypass distributors to put their music on the platform. Previously, artists were required to use distributors, such as CD Baby, TuneCore, AWAL, or others.

The new feature is currently in Beta through Spotify For Artists, and is an invite-only feature for a few hundred US-based independent artists, but aims to allow more artists and teams to upload music in the future. Additionally, Spotify’s listening data will be available directly to the artists by way of their own dashboard.

Artists will see a preview of exactly how things will appear to listeners before hitting submit. After the music goes live, artists will be able to control the metadata with fast edits.

A blog on Spotify.com clarifies:

Just like releasing through any other partner, you’ll get paid when fans stream your music on Spotify. Your recording royalties will hit your bank account automatically each month, and you’ll see a clear report of how much your streams are earning right next to the other insights you already get from Spotify for Artists.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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