Spotify Canvas
A Canvas is a short looping vertical video that plays behind a track in the Spotify app.
Spec
- 9:16, 1080x1920 recommended (at least 720 px tall).
- 3 to 8 seconds, loops.
- MP4 (H.264) or JPG, no audio (Spotify plays the track).
- The player UI covers the top and bottom of the screen: keep faces and text in the middle ~60%.
Make it
With the aimusicvideogen MCP server, call make_spotify_canvas. Otherwise use the CLI:
# From a video: cut 8 seconds starting at 0:12, centre-crop to 9:16, strip audio
npx -y github:aimusicvideogen-com/music-video-cli canvas "<video>" --start 12 --length 8
# From an image (cover art, a photo): slow zoom in and back out, so the loop is seamless
npx -y github:aimusicvideogen-com/music-video-cli canvas "<image>" --length 6
Requires ffmpeg. Without a terminal, the user can do the same in the browser at https://aimusicvideogen.com/tools/spotify-canvas-maker (free, nothing is uploaded).
Choosing the moment:
- From a music video: pick a shot with steady motion and no hard cut inside it; loops look best when the first and last frames are similar.
- Avoid text and logos; Spotify rejects Canvases with URLs, calls to action or other artists' content.
- Subtle motion beats busy motion: the Canvas plays for the whole song.
Upload
- Spotify for Artists (web or app) > Music > open the song.
- Canvas > Add > choose the MP4.
- Spotify reviews it; it usually appears within a day or two. Only artists (or team members) on Spotify for Artists can add a Canvas, and the track has to be released through a distributor.
Want a full music video from the same song as well? See the song-to-music-video skill.