​

​

      Today, almost all music is streamed. In 2019, there were over 1.15 trillion music streams across the internet, meaning most album covers are seen primarily on screens. This massive shift to a digital medium has allowed streaming platforms to start giving their artists more creative visual freedom into the domain of animation. 

​

Spotify is one of the most popular streaming platforms in the world, boasting nearly 300 million monthly users. Debuting in 2019, Spotify Canvas now lets all artists upload a short looping visual to their songs. As Spotify puts it:

​

prima

  “It’s album artwork for the streaming age.”

​

​

The 3 Types of Animated Loops:

​

1. The Rebound

The rebound is the simplest way to get a seamless clip. It will play your clip forward, reverse it when it gets to the end, and reverse it again when it gets to the beginning, providing a fluent and mesmerizing experience. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

2. The Hard Cut

The hard cut has a clear edit point when the loop repeats itself. While it is less seamless than the other two, the most creative hard cuts can enhance the feel of the animation.

​
 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

3. The Continuous Loop

The continuous loop is a clip in which the first and last frame are exactly the same, and will appear to infinitely feed into itself. When executed correctly, the looping animation will look like magic! 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

What are the benefits of having a Spotify Canvas? 

​

Spotify Canvas brings your music to a visual level, increasing the potential creative expression, and drawing more listeners in. Data from the Spotify Canvas beta testing indicates that with compelling content, Canvas has the potential to significantly increase track streams, track shares, and artist page visits. According to one metric from Spotify, listeners are 145% more likely to share a track with a looping canvas. And with Spotify opening up Canvas to all artists, there's never been a better time to start animating your album covers! 

​

​

How do I upload my canvas?  

​

Mobile:

Once you have your video loop saved to your phone (Vlux Visual will make the file downloadable upon purchase), open the Spotify for artists app on your phone. Select the library option from the main menu (the second option from the left on the bottom row. Next, select the song you'd like to add a canvas to. Once you're on the song page, select the blue plus button on the middle of the screen, and select the file you want to upload. Then, you'll have the option to trim the clip (if you bought from us, you won't need to edit the clip at all!). After that, just tap 'next' in the upper right hand corner, and then agree that you have the rights to post it, and you're live! The canvas should be visable to users within the next hour.  

​

Desktop: 

Once you have your video loop saved to your computer (Vlux Visual will make the file downloadable upon purchase), open the Spotify for artists application. Select the 'music' page on the top menu bar. Next, select the song you'd like to add a canvas to. Once you're on the song page, select the blue plus button on the middle of the screen, and select the file you want to upload. Then, you'll have the option to trim the clip (if you bought from us, you won't need to edit the clip at all!). After that, just click 'next' in the upper right hand corner, and then agree that you have the rights to post it, and you're live! The canvas should be visable to users within the next hour.