Spotify to Allow Indie Artists to Upload Music Directly to Service, Bypassing Distributors

Beginning today (Sept. 20), Spotify will begin allowing a select group of independent artists the ability to upload their music directly onto the streaming platform through their Spotify For Artists account, the company announced. The program, which is launching in beta format, has been quietly tested with a small group of artists — including Noname, Michael Brun, VIAA and Hot Shade — and will be made available by invitation to “a few hundred U.S.-based independent artists,” according to a blog post, with more artists able to sign up for a mailing list to receive invites in the coming weeks or months.

For those artists who control their copyrights and do not have label or distribution agreements in place, they can log into their Spotify For Artists account, upload their music, fill in relevant metadata information, preview how the upload will look on their page and set the song to go live at a pre-scheduled time.

“We’ve focused on making the tool easy, flexible and transparent,” Spotify For Artists’ senior product lead, creator marketplace Kene Anoliefo tells Billboard. “There will be no limit or constraint on how often they can upload. We think that can open up a really interesting creative space for artists to begin sharing their music to their fans on Spotify.” Read more from Billboard.