Marketing

Artist Websites in Velveteen

Updated July 29, 2026

The short answer

The Artist Website pilot builds a public site from an artist's Velveteen profile and catalog. An administrator can choose the featured release and discography, upload website images, configure a free album download, save a private draft, publish it, and connect a verified website domain.

Artist Websites are currently an administrator-only pilot. The editor keeps design choices and catalog content in Velveteen so the public site can stay connected to the artist's releases instead of relying on a separate website codebase.

Build the website

1
Choose an artist
Open Website in the dashboard and select the artist whose profile and public releases should supply the site.
2
Choose catalog content
Select a featured release, show the complete public discography or a selected set, and choose the album or release offered as a free download.
3
Upload website images
Upload JPEG, PNG, or WebP files for the hero, artist portrait, and free download artwork. Images can be replaced or removed without pasting an external URL.
4
Set the design
Adjust the template, fonts, colors, wordmark, tagline, facts, pages, and homepage section order.
5
Save or publish
Save draft keeps the work private. Publish copies the current draft to the public site. A later draft does not change the public site until it is published again.

How free downloads work

The free download section delivers the selected release by email using Velveteen's secure download fulfillment. The release must belong to the artist and have its public release page enabled.

The email address is required only to deliver the requested download. A separate checkbox asks whether the visitor also wants future artist news. It starts unchecked, and delivery does not depend on accepting marketing email.

Heads up

Do not treat every free download request as permission for future marketing. Only contacts who select the optional artist email checkbox have recorded marketing consent.

Domains and publishing

Add and verify the website hostname under Settings, Domains. Return to Website, open Domain, and assign that verified hostname to the selected artist.

A domain assignment and a website publication are separate actions. Assigning the domain chooses where the site can appear. Publishing chooses which saved configuration the public site renders.

Frequently asked questions

Can artists edit their own website yet?+

Not in the current pilot. Website management is available only to administrators while the workflow and public delivery are being validated.

Which releases can appear?+

The editor lists public releases connected to the selected artist. You can feature one release and show all current and future releases or a selected discography.

Can I upload images directly?+

Yes. The editor accepts JPEG, PNG, and WebP images up to 4 MB for the hero, portrait, and free download artwork.

Does saving a draft change the live site?+

No. Save draft updates only the private editor state. Use Publish when the current draft is ready to become the public version.

Does a free download join the artist mailing list?+

Not automatically. The download email is used for delivery. Future artist emails require a separate optional checkbox that starts unchecked.