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Artist Profile Protection (APP)

Artist Profile Protection (APP) is an optional feature in Spotify for Artists (S4A) that gives artists more control over which releases appear on their profile.When an artist opts in, new releases delivered from most providers must either include a valid artist key or be approved by the artist via S4A before they will appear on the artist’s profile, count towards their stats, and appear in recommendations to their listeners.

When Does APP Apply?

APP only applies to artists who have opted in. If an artist has not opted in, releases go live as normal. Artist Profile Protection is currently in beta and available to a limited group of artists.

Artist Keys

When artists opt into APP, they will see their unique artist key in S4A, which they can share with trusted distributors. An artist key confirms that you are authorized to deliver to a protected artist profile.

  • Each artist has one active key.

  • Artists may share the same key with multiple trusted distributors.

  • If a key is refreshed, the old key becomes invalid immediately.

  • Approval is a one-time event per artist name and release URI.

If you do not include a valid key, the release will require manual approval.

What Happens at Delivery?

If the artist is opted in and the release is delivered:

With a valid artist key:

  • The release is marked pre-approved in the artist’s Approvals tab.

  • It goes live without requiring artist review.

Without a valid artist key:

  • The release enters the artist’s Approvals tab in S4A.

    • Releases from most content providers are subject to review and approval. Releases requiring approval will show as Needs Approval. Artists can approve or decline these releases up to 28 days after the release date.

  • If they take no action on a release that needs approval by the release date, it will not list them as an artist.

  • If declined, the artist will not be listed on the release.

Approval is required for any artist listed on the release who is opted into Artist Profile ProtectionWhen an artist approves a release, what happens depends on their role:

Main artist

  • Appears on their profile as part of their catalog

  • Contributes to their stats on Spotify and in Spotify for Artists

  • Shows up in recommendations to their listeners

  • Is available to use with other Spotify for Artists tools

Featured artist

  • Appears on their profile in the Appears on section

  • Shows up in recommendations to their listeners

Updates and Redeliveries

APP is triggered when:

  • A new release is delivered.

  • A new artist is added to an existing release and that artist has APP enabled.

APP is not triggered by:

  • Release date changes.

  • Track order changes.

  • Non-artist metadata updates.

  • Updates to an already approved artist name and release URI pair.

If a new album URI is created, APP approval is required again. For any further support or enquiries, please contact content+ingestion@spotify.com