Spotify Canvas 101: How To Create Animated Canvas Videos | Tips & Tricks | iSpyTunes

If you're an independent musician looking for ways to stand out and engage your listeners, you should consider taking advantage of Spotify Canvas.

Spotify Canvas is a powerful tool that allows artists to create interactive, looping visuals that accompany their tracks in the Spotify app. When done right, these animated videos can be highly effective in increasing your streaming numbers!

In this post, we'll explain how Spotify Canvas works and give helpful tips for making it work for you. Get ready to learn the ins and outs of creating mesmerizing videos for your music!

Let's begin with the basics.

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Table of Contents:

1. What is a Spotify Canvas?

2. Why make a Spotify Canvas?

3. How do I make a Spotify Canvas?

4. Do's & Don'ts for your Spotify Canvas

5. Fun Facts about Spotify Canvas

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What is a Spotify Canvas?

A Spotify Canvas is a visual element that appears on the platform when a song is playing. It's a looping video or image that appears in the Spotify app on both iOS and Android devices. It's a great way to add an extra dimension to your music and make it more engaging for your listeners.

How long are Spotify Canvas Videos?

Spotify Canvas videos must be at least 3 seconds long, and at most 8 seconds long. Read on to see how to make the best possible Spotify Canvas for your song with this limited amount of time.

Why should I make a Spotify Canvas?

There are several reasons why musicians should consider creating a Spotify Canvas for their new music. Here are our top reasons to consider making your catalog of music canvas videos.

1. Increased Engagement

A Spotify Canvas can provide a more immersive listening experience for your fans, which can help increase engagement with your music. The visual element adds another layer to the track, making it more interesting and engaging for your listeners. And seeing that audience engagement is the key to the Spotify Algorithm, I would say this is extremely important. To learn more, click here.

2. More shareable on social media

With a Spotify Canvas, your tracks are statistically more likely to be shared on social media. The visual element makes them more eye-catching and shareable, increasing the chances that your music will be seen by a wider audience. Plus, the Instagram stories preview is super cool with a canvas video.

3. Helps convey the mood or theme of the track

A Spotify Canvas can help you convey the mood or theme of your track in a visual way. You can use images or graphics that match the mood of the music, which can help your listeners understand and connect with your music on a deeper level.

4. Differentiates your tracks from others on the platform

With so many tracks on Spotify, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. A Spotify Canvas can help you differentiate your tracks from those of other artists on the platform. The visual element makes your tracks more unique and memorable, which can help you attract more listeners.

Overall, creating a Spotify Canvas for your tracks can provide many benefits for musicians. It can help increase engagement with your music, make your tracks more shareable on social media, and differentiate you from other artists on the platform. It's a simple and effective way to enhance the listening experience for your fans and build your brand on Spotify.

But how does one create their own Spotify canvas? Let's talk it through.

How to Make a Spotify Canvas Video (Without any Editing Experience)

To create an animated Spotify Canvas without any video editing experience, you can use a free online animation tool such as Animaker or Moovly.

These tools allow you to create simple animations using pre-made templates and assets, without the need for any prior experience.

Here is an outline of the steps you can follow to create an animated canvas by using an online animation tool:

1. Brainstorm

Start by planning out your animation and deciding on the visuals and music you want to use. This will help you create a cohesive and engaging video.

2. Choose your Platform

Next, choose an online animation tool and create an account. You can then access the tool's library of templates, assets, and effects to start creating your animation.

3. Spice it Up

Use the online animation tool's interface to add and customize the assets, effects, and music for your animation. You can use the tool's features to create simple movements, transitions, and special effects.

4. Export & Upload

When you are satisfied with the animation and music, export the video as a mp4 file. The video should be 3-8 seconds long, have a resolution of 720x720 pixels, and a 9:16 ratio.

Then, head over to Spotify for Artists to upload the video. Choose your desired song or upcoming release, and tab over to the canvas feature located in the top right.

Finally, upload the video here in Spotify for Artists, and your animated canvas should now be visible to anyone who is listening to the song on the Spotify app.

Note: Once you have a canvas added, you will be able to see basic data on the canvas video in your Spotify for Artists. Essentially, each view is a mobile listener who watched your animated canvas video content. (as seen below)

How to make the best possible Spotify Canvas video (Tips & Tricks)

So now you know how to go about making a Spotify Canvas, but what are some ways to make it the best possible video? (Remember, this video will show instead of the regular album artwork)

Here are our pro tips we have learned after creating hundred of vertical Spotify canvases for independent artists, beware these do's and don'ts.

DO's:

1. Choose a color scheme that matches your album artwork. This will help maintain a cohesive visual aesthetic for your song and artist profile.

2. Use high-quality visuals. The video should be clear and crisp to ensure that it looks good on the small screen of a smartphone.

3. Make sure the video loops seamlessly. This will ensure that the viewing experience is smooth and pleasant for the user.

4. Experiment with different visual styles. Try using animations, graphics, or other visual effects to make your video stand out.

5. Play with the contrast and saturation. Adjusting these settings can help make the video pop and grab the viewer's attention.

DON'Ts:

1. DON'T use a random scene from your music video as your canvas. Music videos don't often work well as a continuous loop, especially with lip-syncing that will not line up correctly.

2. DON'T use a lot of text. Avoid cluttering the video with too much text, as this can be difficult to read on a small screen, and/or visually displeasing.

3. DON'T upload the video immediately once exported. Take the time to watch the video on a variety of devices to make sure it looks good and plays smoothly on all of them.

Note: Do you want a looped video related to your album art created for you? Yes, you won't have to anything, as here at iSpyTunes, we can create a looping visual for your song.

If interested, click below to learn more.

Graphic Design: Animated Spotify Canvas

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3 Fun Facts

Lastly, before we end this article, here are three fun facts about Spotify Canvas videos.

1. According to Spotify, canvas videos really do increase engagement. In fact, when listeners see a Canvas, they are more likely to share the track (+145%), add to their playlists (+20%), and visit your profile page (+9%).

2. You can easily swap out your canvas video content at any time. That way, you can refresh old songs with new graphics whenever you want. That can't be done when it comes to album artwork, so it's neat to have as a feature.

3. There are plenty of different ways to creatively loop your short video. Spotify defines the three main looping techniques as:

   1. The Continuous loop, which has no clear end or staring point

   2. The Hard Cut loop, which has clear edit points that can be artfully disguised

   3. The Rebound loop, which plays your clip forward and then reverses it to the beginning before ending

In Conclusion:

In this article, we have covered pretty much everything an artist would need to know about Spotify Canvas looping videos. From the basics of why to create a canvas, to the logistics of how to create a canvas, and then lastly, our recommended tips and tricks. Creating powerful short videos is just a matter of knowledge rather than skill, and you can take advantage of the Spotify canvas feature today if you have a Spotify for Artists account.

If you have any questions about a different Spotify Canvas maker than Animaker or Moovly, or have suggestions for a new tool, let us know in the comments below.

Also, be sure to subscribe to our blog for weekly blog posts for musicians every Wednesday! Just create a free account on our website today! 'Til next time!