Spotify Wrapped 2026: artist video messages are due 6 November, and performance videos now earn after the campaign

Spotify for Artists has published its Get Ready for Wrapped page for 2026, and Hypebot covered it on 14 October. There are two things to submit. One is the familiar thank-you message, open to every artist, with a hard date of 6 November. The other is new this year and only open to some artists: performance videos that can show up inside fans' Wrapped and, unlike the messages, keep earning after the campaign ends. They are easy to mix up, and the fine print differs. This post sets out what each one is, what Spotify has and hasn't promised, and a checklist to work through before the deadline.

What is due on 6 November?

A personal video message. Spotify's page says all artists can submit one by 6 November. It must be vertical and no longer than 30 seconds. Spotify asks you to keep it clean: no music, explicit content, logos, on-screen text or filters. You upload it on desktop in Spotify for Artists. Go to the Video & Visuals tab, click the Wrapped banner, and add the video with a caption of 100 characters or fewer. Spotify suggests three subjects: what fans' support meant to you, a 2026 milestone, and a hint of what's coming in 2027.

If it is picked, it can appear in your top fans' personalised Wrapped stories and in the Your Artist Messages feed. Spotify says over 70,000 artists sent messages last year, so you are not the only one asking for a slot.

A note on dates. Spotify for Creators gives 13 November as the deadline, but that page is for podcasters and their shows. For music artists the date on Spotify for Artists is 6 November. Hypebot expects Wrapped itself around 3 December, which is its estimate, not a Spotify date.

What are the new performance videos?

They are full-length videos of a live show, an acoustic take or a studio session, each tied to one of your tracks. Only artists in the Spotify for Artists video upload beta can submit them. The specs are different from the message: landscape, MP4 or MOV, under 20 minutes, 1080p or higher. You upload through the same Video & Visuals tab via the live performance video banner, pick the matching track and choose a thumbnail.

During Wrapped, Spotify says these videos "have the chance to appear" in fans' Your Top Songs playlist, where a Performances chip lets listeners switch to the live version. On the same page, Spotify says the videos are eligible for royalties and charting, and stay on artist profiles after Wrapped.

The beta itself opened on 17 June 2026 for selected artists. Access is expanding gradually through the year, and artists without it can join a waitlist. Beyond performances, the beta accepts covers and official music videos. It says lyric videos, visualisers and multi-song concerts are not supported yet. It also stopped new Clips uploads, and the Clips tab on profiles will gradually turn into a Video tab.

What does the fine print say?

Four things are worth reading closely.

Placement is not promised. In its message instructions, Spotify says submitting gives it permission to distribute the video, but doesn't guarantee placement, and that all message videos are removed once the campaign ends. The performance section only says videos "have the chance to appear", and Hypebot reads the no-guarantee line as covering both kinds. Plan as if neither is certain.

"Eligible" is not the same as "will". The Wrapped page says the videos are eligible for royalties and charting. The June beta post was more careful: it called the videos royalty-bearing and said they may be chart-eligible. Spotify's support page says the Music Video Charts Global take official music videos or live performance videos, from an eligible distributor or uploaded directly. None of the pages we read says how video royalties are calculated or who pays them out. The support page only says labels and distributors pay streaming royalties in general.

Publishing data decides US eligibility. Spotify uses songwriter and publisher data registered with the MLC to decide whether a music video can be distributed in the US. If your songs are not registered there, a video you upload may not appear for US listeners. That is a step many self-releasing artists skip.

The audience is mostly Premium. Music videos are shown to Premium listeners in many countries but to free listeners only in Brazil and Colombia for now, with more markets to follow.

The checklist

• By 6 November: record a vertical message of 30 seconds or less, with no music, logos, text or filters. Upload it on desktop via Video & Visuals, then the Wrapped banner, with a caption of up to 100 characters.
• Write the message for your top fans, because they are the ones who will see it. Thank them, name one real 2026 moment, and point to one 2027 plan.
• If you are in the beta: export a landscape performance of a track your fans already stream, under 20 minutes, MP4 or MOV, 1080p or higher. Match it to the right track and pick a clear thumbnail. We found no separate deadline for these on Spotify's page, but uploading before 6 November is the safe choice.
• If you are not in the beta: join the waitlist, or ask your label or distributor about delivering video, which is still the main route.
• Register your songs with the MLC if you want videos to be eligible in the US.
• Tidy the profile Wrapped traffic lands on. Spotify suggests showing off your latest merch, adding upcoming shows through a ticketing partner, adding a Canvas to every track, and updating your bio, images and Artist Pick.
• Plan for no placement. Post the same message on your own channels in early December, so the work still reaches fans if Spotify doesn't use it.

What we think

The thank-you message is free promotion that Spotify gets for free too. Last year's 70,000-plus short videos were a lot of unpaid content for Spotify's biggest marketing campaign of the year. Doing it is still worth it, because it costs you 30 seconds and reaches the people most likely to buy a ticket. But the deal is plain on the page. You give Spotify permission to distribute the video, Spotify promises nothing back, and the video is gone when the campaign ends.

The performance video is the better trade, and the more important change. It is the first Wrapped asset that keeps working after December. Our reading is that Spotify is using Wrapped, its moment of peak attention, to fill its new Video tab with live content now that Clips are gone. For artists that is a real opening: a live version that sits next to the studio track and, according to Spotify, can earn and chart. What Spotify hasn't said yet is how much. We found no rate, no explanation of how video plays are counted, and no word on whether the 1,000-stream threshold for recording royalties also applies to videos. Until Spotify says, treat "eligible for royalties" as a promise of a payment, not of a meaningful amount.

The second-order effect is uneven. Beta access is gradual, and labels already deliver video. Artists with a team and good live footage get a new, lasting slot in fans' most-played playlists. Artists still on the waitlist get only the 30-second message, which disappears. If you have decent live footage, join the waitlist now so you are ready for next year.