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Spotify Artist Profile Protection: How release approval works

Artist Profile Protection

Spotify has introduced a feature that gives you control over what appears under your name. For the first time in the history of streaming services, you can approve a release before it shows up on your profile.

Why was this feature created?

More and more often, music on Spotify was ending up on the wrong artist profiles. Sometimes it was a metadata error, at other times a mix-up with another artist of the same name – and in worse cases a deliberate attempt to attach someone else’s music to your profile and cash in on your fan base. With the rise of AI music generation tools, this problem has become much worse: Fake recordings started appearing on the profiles of real artists on a large scale.

In the 12 months up to September 2025, Spotify removed over 75 million spam tracks. Reactive deletion was not enough, though – which is why the Artist Profile Protection feature was created.

Metadata error

A recording accidentally ends up on the wrong profile because of a typo or a distributor error.

Same name

There are several artists with the same or a similar name – and the music gets assigned to the wrong one.

Deliberate abuse

Someone uploads someone else’s music or AI music under your name to profit from your popularity.

How does Artist Profile Protection work?

It is an optional feature in Spotify for Artists that lets you check releases carrying your name – depending on the mode you choose, you either approve them before they appear on your profile, or remove yourself from them afterwards.

How does it work in practice?

  • You switch on Artist Profile Protection in Spotify for Artists (the menu under your avatar → Artist Profile Protection).
  • Whenever a release with your name is delivered to Spotify, you get an email notification.
  • In the Music → Approvals tab, you check the release and decide – approve or reject.
  • You have up to 28 days from the release going live to decide. What happens if you don’t respond depends on the mode you have chosen.

Spotify offers two modes:

  • Review releases (default) – the release comes out as planned and Spotify credits you on it. If you shouldn’t be on it, you remove yourself from it within 28 days of it going live.
  • Block releases (advanced setting) – the release credits you as an artist only once you approve it. Without your approval, it won’t appear on your profile and may not come out on time.

What happens after you approve or reject a release?

You approve the release

  • The release appears on your profile as part of your catalogue.
  • It counts towards your statistics on Spotify and in Spotify for Artists.
  • It is shown in recommendations to your listeners.
  • You can use it with other Spotify for Artists tools.

You reject it (or don’t respond in Block releases mode)

  • The release does not appear on your profile.
  • It does not count towards your statistics or recommendations.
  • However, the release may still be live on other streaming services.
  • If it is someone else’s music, follow the article What to do when someone else's music is on my profile.

Watch out – in Block releases mode, no response = blocked

In Block releases mode, the rule is: If you don’t approve a release by its release date, it won’t appear on your profile and may not come out on time. This also applies to your own legitimate releases! If you switch this mode on, you have to keep an active eye on notifications and approve releases in time. Otherwise, you risk your own music not appearing on release day.

Artist Key – Automatic approval for trusted distributors

What is an Artist Key?

So that you don’t have to manually approve every release from your distributor, Spotify assigns you a unique Artist Key in Block releases mode – a code you share with your trusted distributors.

If the distributor includes this code in the metadata when delivering the release, the release is automatically pre-approved and goes live without any manual approval on your part.

You will find your Artist Key on the Artist Profile Protection page in Spotify for Artists. Share it only with distributors you trust and never make it public. If you suspect that someone has it without authorisation, contact Spotify – the key can be renewed. If you have Block releases mode switched on, you also need to approve your releases via Bez Labelu in Spotify for Artists (Music → Approvals).

Who is this feature for?

The feature is a good fit if:

  • Other people’s releases have repeatedly appeared on your profile.
  • You have a common or shared artist name.
  • You are not actively releasing at the moment and want to keep your profile under control.
  • You want maximum control over what appears under your name.

The feature is not a good fit if:

You release music often and don’t want to add unnecessary steps to the process. Or if you often collaborate with other artists and don’t want to complicate releasing joint projects. In that case, it is better not to switch the feature on and to deal with any problems through the standard tools for reporting incorrect matching.

You also need to keep this in mind for collaborations: If, in the release or track form in Artists Bez Labelu, you list another primary or featured artist who has Artist Profile Protection switched on, they have to approve the release. So agree on it with them in advance – more in the articles Additional primary artist and Featured artist (guest artist).

How to switch the feature on

Activation steps

  1. Log in at artists.spotify.com.
  2. Open the menu under your avatar (profile picture).
  3. Find the Artist Profile Protection section.

The feature can be managed by team members with the Admin or Editor role in Spotify for Artists.

You will find more information about Artist Profile Protection directly in Spotify’s official help centre:

Spotify Help Center – Artist Profile Protection