Spotify Now Lets Artists Upload Videos Directly, and They Earn Royalties
Spotify opened a beta letting artists upload full-length videos and live performances straight from Spotify for Artists. The videos can earn royalties and count toward charts, so video is now a distribution decision, not just promo.
Short answer
On June 17, 2026, Spotify began letting beta artists upload live performances, studio sessions, covers, and official music videos directly through the Spotify for Artists dashboard, instead of only through a label or distributor. Spotify says the videos are royalty-bearing and may be chart-eligible. Distributor delivery remains the primary path, and access is rolling out gradually.
Key takeaways
- Spotify opened a beta on June 17, 2026 that lets artists upload full-length videos directly from the Spotify for Artists dashboard. No label or distributor required.
- The videos are royalty-bearing and may be chart-eligible, so video becomes a release decision, not just promo.
- Distribution through your distributor stays the primary path; direct upload is an extra option that is rolling out gradually.
- Spotify is ending new uploads to Clips; the short-form feature is folding into the new Video tab.
What happened?
On June 17, 2026, Spotify opened a beta that lets artists upload live performances, studio sessions, covers, and official music videos straight from the Spotify for Artists dashboard. Spotify describes the uploads as “royalty-bearing” and says they “may be chart-eligible,” so an artist can earn from the video itself as well as the listening that tends to follow it.
Until now, video reached Spotify only through labels and distributors. The company says “tens of thousands” of beta artists have the option today, with more getting access throughout the year, and that distributor delivery “remains the primary delivery path” for music. Early uploads have come from artists like Hazlett (a live performance), We Three (a cover), and Bebe Rexha (an official video). At the same time, Spotify is ending support for new uploads to Clips, its 2023 short-form feature; existing Clips stay, and the Clips tab becomes a Video tab over time.
Why independent artists should care
Direct upload removes the label/distributor gate for artists in the beta. Spotify also frames video as a listening multiplier, citing its own data on what happens in the three weeks after a listener watches a video:
More streams of that song over the next three weeks
More likely to save, share, or add the song to a playlist
More streams across the artist's wider catalog
Lift in streams from an artist's top “super listeners”
Streaming videos leads to more listening.
Whether or not those exact numbers hold for every artist, the direction is the point: Spotify is positioning video as a discovery and retention tool that feeds your audio streams, not a vanity asset.
Direct upload vs. your distributor
| Direct upload (beta) | Through your distributor | |
|---|---|---|
| Who delivers it | You, in Spotify for Artists | Your distributor or label |
| Royalty-bearing | Yes | Yes |
| Chart-eligible | May be | Yes |
| Formats | Live, sessions, covers, official videos | Official music videos |
| Status | Beta, rolling out gradually | Primary delivery path |
What to do now
Supported in the beta
Live performances, studio sessions, covers, and official music videos, uploaded in landscape (16:9). Spotify auto-generates short-form previews from what you upload.
Not supported yet
Visualizers, lyric videos, multi-song concerts, and videos without music. If that is all you have, hold off until the formats you need are eligible.
Check whether you have beta access in your Spotify for Artists dashboard. It is rolling out in stages. If you do, decide whether a music video or live performance belongs in your next release plan and budget for it accordingly. Keep using your distributor for your core release delivery; direct upload is an option on top of it, not a replacement.
What is still unclear?
Open questions
Spotify has not spelled out the exact royalty mechanics for the video itself versus the listening it drives, or precisely how chart-eligibility is calculated. It is also not yet clear when the beta reaches everyone, or whether independent distributors will build their own direct video-delivery options. Treat this as an opportunity to test, not a guaranteed payout, until Spotify confirms the details.
Sources
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