A Spotify background video is the short looping clip that plays behind a song on the Spotify mobile app's Now Playing screen. Spotify calls it Canvas. It is a silent, vertical 9:16 video of 3 to 8 seconds that the artist uploads per track through Spotify for Artists, replacing the static cover art while the song plays.
This guide covers both sides: listeners who want to know what it is (or how to turn it off), and artists who want one behind their own song, with the specs, upload steps, design choices and what to check when it does not show.
Key Takeaways
- The moving background on Spotify is Canvas, a looping 3 to 8 second vertical clip set per song. It has no audio; the track plays over it.
- Specs are tight: 9:16, at least 720 by 1280 pixels (1080 by 1920 recommended), MP4 or JPEG, no sound, and a loop that restarts cleanly.
- Only the artist's team can add one, through Spotify for Artists, after the track has been delivered by a distributor. Distributors do not upload it for you.
- A Spotify background video is a loop, not a music video. One subject and one slow movement beat a squeezed-down video edit every time.
- When it does not show, the file is often fine: Data Saver, the desktop app, the Canvas setting or propagation time are common causes.
What is the moving background on Spotify called?
It is called Canvas. Spotify introduced the format so artists could put motion on the Now Playing screen, the view a listener sees after tapping into a song on their phone. Without a Canvas, that screen shows only the album artwork.
Canvas is easy to confuse with two other features. Full music videos, which Spotify supports in some markets, are separate uploads with their own audio. Album artwork is the static square image delivered with your release. Canvas sits between them: short, silent, looping, and meant to be glanced at while someone listens. Listeners call it the Spotify moving background or video loop; Spotify for Artists calls it Canvas.
The specs: length, size, file type and looping
Spotify publishes the requirements in its Canvas guidelines. The table below matches the values used in our Spotify Canvas maker guide. Spotify can change them, so check the guidelines on the day you export.
| Property | Requirement | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 vertical | Design natively vertical; a horizontal crop loses the subject |
| Resolution | 720 by 1280 px minimum | Export 1080 by 1920 so it stays sharp on large phones |
| Length | 3 to 8 seconds | 4 to 6 seconds is the comfortable range for a clean loop |
| File type | MP4 (video) or JPEG (still) | Motion is the point; JPEG is a fallback |
| File size | Up to 25 MB | Aim under 15 MB with an H.264 export |
| Audio | None | The track itself plays over the Canvas |
| Loop | Plays continuously | The last frame should flow back into the first |
Spotify's guidelines also list content to avoid, such as flashing or strobing effects, URLs and calls to action, and footage you do not have the rights to. Read the current list before you design, because a Canvas that breaks the guidelines can be removed after it goes live.
Who can add a background video to a song?
Anyone with edit access to the artist's Spotify for Artists profile can add a Canvas. In practice that means the artist, or a team member with an Admin or Editor role. Labels and managers who handle an artist's profile can do it too.
Three conditions have to be true first:
- You have claimed your Spotify for Artists profile. Any artist with music on Spotify can request access; no stream threshold or label is required.
- The song has been delivered to Spotify by your distributor. You cannot attach a Canvas to a track that Spotify does not know about yet. Upcoming releases do show up in Spotify for Artists once they are delivered, so you can usually set the Canvas before release day.
- You own or have cleared the footage. Stock clips need a license that covers this use.
Canvas is set per song, not per album, so every track on an album can carry its own loop.
How to upload a Canvas in Spotify for Artists
The flow is short. Menu names shift between app versions, but the path has looked like this for a long time:
- Open Spotify for Artists on the mobile app or the web, and select the artist profile.
- Go to Music and pick the song, including upcoming releases that have already been delivered.
- Find the Canvas section on the song page and choose to add (or edit) a Canvas.
- Upload your file, already exported at its final length. Trimming inside Spotify's uploader is a common point of failure.
- Preview it in the Now Playing mock-up and check that nothing important sits under the interface.
- Confirm the guidelines and post it. It can take some time before the Canvas appears for every listener.
If the web uploader refuses a file that meets the spec, try the Spotify for Artists mobile app before you re-export. Artists report that route working more reliably.
How listeners turn the background video on or off
For listeners, Canvas is on by default in the iOS and Android apps. To switch it off (or on again), open Spotify's Settings and look for the Canvas toggle, under Playback or a section such as Content and display depending on your app version. Other things also stop it playing:
- Data Saver or low data mode hides Canvas to save bandwidth.
- Desktop and web players show the cover art, not the Canvas, on the standard Now Playing view.
- Older phone operating systems may not render it.
If you are an artist checking your own Canvas, rule these out on your test phone first.
Design tips that make a loop worth watching
A background video plays behind a song that someone chose to hear, not to watch. It should still feel right on the twentieth pass.
One subject, one motion. The screen is small and the interface covers much of it. A single figure or object with one slow movement reads instantly; three things moving at once turns into noise.
Keep the safe zone clear. Hold the key subject in the middle band of the frame. The top and the lower third carry interface elements and track details, so focal points placed there disappear.
Match energy, not tempo. A ballad wants slow drift; a fast dance track can carry quicker motion.
Make the seam invisible. Use a movement that returns to where it started: a slow push in and out, a light that pulses and settles, a full colour cycle. Play the clip on loop five times; if you can see the restart, fix it before upload.
Time the loop to the bar. Here is a rule most Canvas guides skip. If the motion has a rhythm of its own (a pulse, a sway, a flicker), make the loop length a whole number of bars so the visual pulse stays in phase with the song instead of drifting. The formula is seconds = beats × 60 ÷ BPM. At 90 BPM, 8 beats (two bars of 4/4) is 5.33 seconds. At 120 BPM, 8 beats is exactly 4 seconds and 16 beats is 8 seconds. Our free BPM finder gives you the tempo if you do not know it.
Skip text. The song title and artist name are already on screen, so stamped lyrics or handles just compete with the interface.
Stay consistent with the release. Spotify has published engagement lifts for tracks with a Canvas (more shares, streams and profile visits, by its own figures), broken down in our Canvas streams uplift data. A loop that clashes with the cover wastes that slot.
Why your background video is not showing
If the track still shows static artwork after upload, work through the causes in order: the file, the upload, propagation, then the listener's device. The usual suspects are a file slightly outside the spec, a failed trim in the browser uploader, a change that has not propagated yet, and a test phone with Data Saver on or the Canvas setting off. We cover each stage, with a checklist to isolate the failing one, in why your Spotify Canvas is not working. Check on two different phones before you rebuild anything.
Making one from your cover art with Echonos
The quickest way to get a loop that matches your release is to start from the artwork listeners already see. That is how the Echonos Release Package builds its Canvas: it turns your cover art into a 4 to 8 second seamless 9:16 loop, sized for the spec. The same package can generate the Cover Art itself (up to four takes), an Animated Cover Art loop in 1:1 for Apple Music, and your cover resized for Spotify, YouTube and Apple Music images.
Our Spotify Canvas maker page walks through that flow and the specs on one screen. If you already have a cover, you can start there; if you do not, the album cover generator page covers the artwork step.
There is a second route if you are also making a music video. An Echonos run renders 10 to 30 seconds from the moment of the song you pick, and you can choose 9:16 for it. A 4 to 6 second window from that clip, trimmed in any editor with matching in and out frames, can work as a Canvas, as long as the framing suits a loop. The vertical music video guide covers the framing habits that carry across vertical surfaces.
Either way, you upload the file yourself in Spotify for Artists. Echonos runs on paid plans with a monthly credit allowance and has no free tier, so free editors remain a fair option for a one-off release.
A note on downloading other artists' Canvases
Plenty of people search for a way to save a Canvas they liked, and downloader sites exist. But a Canvas belongs to the artist or label who made it. Keeping one as a private reference is one thing; reposting it or putting it behind your own track uses someone else's work without permission. Study what makes it work (subject, motion, seam, palette) and build your own.
The short version
A Spotify background video is a Canvas: one short, silent, vertical loop per song, uploaded by the artist's team in Spotify for Artists. Get the specs right, keep one subject in the safe zone, make the seam invisible, and test on a real phone. If you want the full release set to match, the song release content kit shows where the Canvas fits next to your cover and short-form clips. And if you would rather start from your artwork, try the Release Package in Echonos and turn your cover into a loop that belongs to the same release.
FAQ
FAQ
5 questions answered. Tap to expand.
What is the Spotify background video called?
What is the Spotify background video called?
It is called Canvas. A Canvas is a 3 to 8 second vertical loop that plays behind a song on the Spotify mobile app's Now Playing screen, in place of the static cover art. Artists add it per track through Spotify for Artists. It has no audio, since the song itself is playing, and it repeats for as long as the track plays.
How do I add a background video to my song on Spotify?
How do I add a background video to my song on Spotify?
Claim your Spotify for Artists profile, make sure your distributor has delivered the track, then open the song under Music and add a Canvas. Upload a 9:16 MP4 of 3 to 8 seconds, at least 720 by 1280 pixels, already trimmed to final length. Preview it, confirm the guidelines, and post. It may take a little while to appear for listeners.
What size should a Spotify background video be?
What size should a Spotify background video be?
Make it 9:16 vertical. The minimum is 720 by 1280 pixels and 1080 by 1920 is the safer export. Keep it between 3 and 8 seconds, as an MP4 with no audio track, under 25 MB (aim for under 15 MB). Spotify can update these values, so confirm them in the Spotify for Artists Canvas guidelines before you export.
Why can't I see the background video on Spotify?
Why can't I see the background video on Spotify?
Canvas only plays in the iOS and Android apps, not on the standard desktop Now Playing view. Data Saver hides it, the Canvas toggle in Settings can be switched off, and older phone systems may not render it. A newly uploaded Canvas can also take time to propagate. If none of those apply, the track may simply not have a Canvas.
Can I make a Spotify Canvas for free?
Can I make a Spotify Canvas for free?
Yes. You can animate your cover art or crop footage you already own in a free video editor, and some distributors include a Canvas generator in their plans. Paid tools trade money for time: Echonos builds a seamless 9:16 loop from your cover art in its Release Package on paid plans. Whichever you use, you upload it in Spotify for Artists yourself.
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Written by
Echonos Team
We build Echonos — an AI music video pipeline for indie artists, managers, and small labels. We write here about how we think about audio, visuals, and release workflow.