Spotify’s Canvas video-looping feature that allows artists to create essentially moving album art on the platform is getting its own marketplace connecting musicians with visual designers. Spotify for Artists announced the news Thursday (Nov. 19), as well as that the format is being made available to more artists following its expanded beta launch last October.
The new marketplace is hosted by Spotify’s SoundBetter platform, which connects musicians with audio professionals like producers and mixing engineers, and will give artists access to visual designers who have a proven track record of creating high-performing Canvas videos. The designer marketplace will work similarly to SoundBetter, matching artists with designers who meet their budget. Once a deal is made, artists share the details of their track and overall creative vision; the designer then comes back with a custom Canvas tailored to their song. (Musicians can post jobs and hire providers for free through SoundBetter, though providers are charged a small commission.)
Participating designers include Helen Ratner (FKA Twigs, Steve Aoki, Kanye West), Ian Eager (Lil Tecca, Pop Smoke, Lil Wayne), WEWRKWKNDS (Zedd, Katy Perry, Billie Eilish) and others who have shown success with the format.
Artists have been finding increasingly creative uses for Canvas as of late. Last week, Shawn Mendes teased the tracklist to his upcoming album by dropping song title hints using the format, while Billie Eilish refreshed her Canvas once a day for seven days to offer snippets of her recent Where Do We Go? livestream.
With today’s announcement, Spotify is also sharing new data around Canvas’ effectiveness. According to the service, listeners are 145% more likely to share a track that has a Canvas, 5% more likely to keep streaming it, 20% more likely to add it to their personal playlists and 9% more likely to visit an artist’s profile page.
You can learn more about the Canvas marketplace here.
