Album Cover Size by Platform: Spotify, Apple and YouTube Specs
Use a 4,000 x 4,000 pixel square PNG or JPEG in sRGB for music distribution. That file clears Apple Music’s current 4,000 pixel minimum, fits Spotify’s published 640 to 10,000 pixel range, and stays below YouTube’s 4,098 pixel maximum for partner-delivered Art Track artwork. Never upscale a smaller source.
Lead visual
Release metadata preflight
Title casing
Check before delivery, not after stores ingest the release.
Featured artist role
Check before delivery, not after stores ingest the release.
ISRC format
Check before delivery, not after stores ingest the release.
P line owner
Check before delivery, not after stores ingest the release.
Explicit tag
Check before delivery, not after stores ingest the release.
Fix before deliver
After delivery, corrections move through store updates, cache delays, and royalty systems that may already have recorded the wrong data.
Release · Artwork
Release data map
Decision
Fix release information before stores, societies, and royalty systems ingest it.
Evidence
Titles, artist roles, ISRCs, UPCs, ownership lines, explicit flags, files, and artwork specs.
Risk
Bad metadata travels into stores and takes longer to correct than it would have taken to preflight.
Good outcome
A release record that is easier to deliver, match, pitch, and pay correctly.
PNG and JPEG work across all three official source families
Spotify's published minimum width and height
YouTube partner artwork maximum
Official source families requiring square artwork
What size should album artwork be for each platform?
| Published requirement | What to deliver | |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | Square, 640 to 10,000px, TIFF/PNG/JPG, sRGB, 24 bits per pixel | Use the shared PNG or high-quality JPG master in sRGB |
| Apple Music | Perfect square, at least 4,000 x 4,000px, JPG/PNG/GIF | Use the shared PNG or high-quality JPG master in sRGB |
| YouTube Music | Square PNG/JPEG, recommended minimum 1,400px, maximum 4,098px, 300 DPI | Use the shared PNG or high-quality JPG master with the requested resolution metadata |
| DistroKid | JPG, minimum 1,000px, 3,000px recommended, RGB | Use the same high-quality JPG when this distributor is the delivery path |
Velveteen compared the three official service source families and one distributor constraint on July 9, 2026. PNG and JPEG were the only formats shared by Spotify, Apple, and YouTube, and every service required a square. The recommended target is the overlap between their ranges.
Which file settings belong in the final export?
Digital master audit
Inspect the exported file, not the canvas settings
Dimensions
The shared target shown above, measured in actual pixels
Keeps the file inside the compared Spotify, Apple, and YouTube ranges.
Aspect ratio
Exactly 1:1
Avoids an automatic crop or a validator rejection.
Color
sRGB, 24 bits per pixel
Matches Spotify's current requirement and Apple's RGB workflow.
Format
PNG or high-quality JPEG
Uses the two formats accepted across all three official source families.
Profile
Color conversion applied; no embedded profile for Spotify delivery
Avoids relying on profile handling Spotify says it does not support.
Source quality
No enlargement from a smaller original
A larger pixel count cannot restore detail that was absent in the source.
Why should you avoid upscaling a small cover?
Upscaling creates more pixels by estimating between the pixels you already have. It can smooth a rough edge, but it cannot recover a missing eye, letterform, texture, or strand of hair. Spotify tells artists not to upscale. Apple rejects unintended blur and pixelation. A target-sized file can still look like a stretched thumbnail.
Check at 100% and at thumbnail size
At 100%, look for compression blocks, soft type, broken gradients, AI artifacts, and jagged masks. At thumbnail size, make sure the focal point and title still read. Those are different tests, and the cover has to survive both.
What changes when you print the artwork?
Stop using the digital export as the production file. Vinyl and CD packaging use a manufacturer template, physical dimensions, bleed, safety zones, folds, a spine, and CMYK color. The same creative source can feed both jobs, but the files are built for different machines.
check the final artwork with the release fields before delivery
Where do the platform artwork specifications come from?
Frequently asked questions
Is 3,000 x 3,000 still acceptable album artwork?+
It fits Spotify and many distributor validators, but it falls below Apple Music for Artists' current minimum. Build or export at the shared target above when the original source supports it. Do not enlarge a small file merely to reach the number.
Should album artwork be JPG or PNG?+
Both work across the Spotify, Apple, and YouTube specifications reviewed here. PNG is useful for flat graphics and sharp type. A high-quality JPEG is often smaller and is accepted by distributors with JPG-only upload rules. Do not use transparency in the final square.
Does DPI matter for streaming album artwork?+
Pixel dimensions do the visible work on screens. YouTube's partner documentation still recommends 300 DPI, while Spotify specifies pixels and color space. The shared export can carry that resolution metadata without changing the number of pixels in the image.
Can album artwork be larger than the shared target?+
Spotify permits up to 10,000 pixels, but YouTube's partner specification caps album artwork at 4,098 pixels. A larger file may be accepted by one destination and fail another. Keep the distributor master at the shared target unless your distributor provides different current instructions.
Should album artwork use RGB or CMYK?+
Use sRGB for the digital master. Spotify explicitly requires sRGB, and Apple requires RGB. CMYK is for physical print production and should be prepared separately from the editable source using the pressing plant or printer template.
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Check your metadata before your distributor does
Run your titles, credits, copyright lines, and ISRC and UPC codes through the free checker and catch the rejection-bait errors before you upload. It all runs in your browser.