Every Visual Your Single Needs on Release Day: Sizes, Specs and a Checklist
A single is more than a song file. Fans meet it as a square on Spotify, a loop on the Now Playing screen, a video on YouTube and a clip in their feed. Each of those is a different picture, in a different shape, with its own rules.
The five visuals a single release needs
Here's the short list, with where each one shows up.
- Cover art. The square image on every streaming app and store. It's the one picture nearly every listener sees.
- Spotify Canvas. A 3 to 8 second vertical loop that replaces your cover art on the Now Playing screen in Spotify's mobile app.
- Lyric video. A landscape video with the words in time to the song, mainly for YouTube. It does a different job from a music video or visualizer; see lyric video vs visualizer.
- Vertical clips. Short cuts of the hook for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok.
- YouTube thumbnail. The still image people see before they click your lyric video.
Aspect ratio is the shape of a frame, written as width to height. 16:9 is a TV shape. 9:16 is a phone held upright. 1:1 is a square.
You can release with fewer. But each of the other four you skip leaves a platform showing a blank, an auto-picked frame, or nothing at all.
Sizes and specs, in one table
This is the table to work from. The last column shows which of these our Gold package includes, since it was built around this same list.
| Visual | Shape and size | Format | Where it's used | What gets rejected or covered | Ready by | In Gold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cover art | Square 1:1, 640 to 10,000 px on each side | JPG, PNG or TIFF, sRGB color | Every streaming app, store and player | Upscaled images (Spotify). URLs, logos, QR codes, prices, low-quality or pixelated art (Apple Music) | With your distributor upload | Yes, cover artwork |
| Spotify Canvas | Vertical 9:16, 720 to 1,080 px tall, 3 to 8 seconds | MP4 or JPG | Now Playing screen in the Spotify mobile app | Links, "follow us" asks, promos for other releases, brands or deals | Once the track shows in Spotify for Artists, before release day | Yes, 1 Canvas |
| Lyric video | Landscape 16:9, 1920 x 1080 (1080p) | MP4 | YouTube, your website | No special size rule. The song's rights still need to be yours | Uploaded and scheduled before release day | Yes, full lyric video in 1080p |
| Vertical clips | Vertical 9:16. Meta suggests 1440 x 2560 for Reels; TikTok's ad specs ask for at least 540 x 960 | MP4 or MOV | YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, TikTok | Text in the app's button zones gets covered | First clip on release day, more in the weeks after | Yes, 3 vertical clips |
| YouTube thumbnail | 16:9. YouTube suggests 3840 x 2160, at least 640 px wide | JPG or PNG, under 2 MB from a phone (50 MB from a computer) | YouTube search, home feed, suggested videos | Anything against YouTube's Community Guidelines. Custom thumbnails need a verified channel | Same time as the lyric video upload | Yes, 3 thumbnail designs |
Sources: Spotify cover art requirements, Canvas guidelines and Canvas content policy; Apple Music Style Guide section 7; YouTube Help custom thumbnails and three-minute Shorts; Meta Ads Guide for Reels; TikTok video ad specs. All re-opened October 1, 2026.
A few details matter more than they look.
Cover art. Spotify asks for "the highest resolution available" and says don't upscale. Upscaling means stretching a small image bigger, which makes it blurry. Our habit is to start the design file at 3000 x 3000 px or more, so every platform gets a sharp copy. Spotify's page lists only technical rules. Apple's style guide adds content rules: no website addresses, logos, QR codes or pricing on the art.
Canvas. Spotify says the edges may get cut off on some phones, so keep the key image in the middle. It also suggests you skip the song and artist name, since the app already shows them. Our guide on how to make a Spotify Canvas goes deeper.
Vertical clips. YouTube counts any square or vertical upload up to three minutes as a Short. Meta suggests keeping about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% on each side free of text, so buttons don't cover it. Our guide to vertical lyric videos for TikTok, Reels and Shorts covers the cut itself.
Thumbnail. YouTube's page no longer leads with the old 1280 x 720 figure. It now suggests 3840 x 2160 for videos, with a 640 px minimum width. The 2 MB cap applies to uploads from a phone. The limit from a computer is 50 MB.
When each visual must be ready
This section is only about deadlines for the files. For when to post and promote, see our week-by-week release plan. Here, work backwards from release day.
| Visual | Ready by | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cover art, final file | Before you upload the release to your distributor | The distributor delivers the song and the cover together |
| Release delivered to Spotify | At least 9 days before release | Pitch at least 7 days out to reach followers' Release Radar. A release can take about 48 hours to appear |
| Spotify Canvas | Before release day | You can add a Canvas to an upcoming release once it shows in Spotify for Artists |
| Lyric video and thumbnails | Uploaded and scheduled before release day | So the video goes live with the song |
| Vertical clips | First one on release day | The rest run in the weeks after |
Sources: Spotify for Artists pitching, Upcoming tab and adding a Canvas, re-opened October 1, 2026.
Here's the arithmetic behind the key dates. Spotify says a pitch made at least 7 days before release puts the song in your followers' Release Radar. It also says a release can take around 48 hours to show up after your distributor sends it. So the cover art has to be final at least 9 days out, and more room is safer.
Cover art also needs time to make. Our studio's advice:
Cover art is the graphic that pretty much 100% of the people are going to see when they hear music. When you have very iconic cover art, it really helps you stand out and be easily recognized, which leads to more plays if you do it right. It is highly recommended that you spend at least 2 weeks working on or choosing good cover artwork for your track if you are a serious artist.Umesh G., Founder & Creative Director
Add those 2 weeks of design to the 9-day delivery floor. Cover art work starts at least 23 days before release.
Latest safe start, in days before release
Each step's minimum lead time. Earlier is safer.
Spotify pitching (7 days) and Upcoming (about 48 hours), re-opened October 1, 2026. 2 weeks of cover design is our studio's advice. Sums are our arithmetic.
Making the five look like one release
Five visuals made separately can look like five different songs. A fan sees the cover on Spotify, then a clip on TikTok, and doesn't connect them. Spotify's own Canvas guidelines say the same thing: connect your Canvas to your album art and build a theme across the release.
Our studio designs all five from one set of decisions:
- One palette. Pick three or four colors from the cover and reuse them everywhere. Our guide on how to choose one palette shows how to keep text readable while you do it.
- One type choice. The lyric font in the video is the same one in the vertical clips. The thumbnail title uses it too. See lyric video fonts for picks that read on a phone.
- One key element. Take the main image from the cover, like a face, an object or a shape, and bring it into the Canvas loop and the video background.
- One hook line. The line on the thumbnail is the line your first vertical clip is built around.
One release, five shapes
Same colors, same key shape, same lyric style in every frame.
Cover art, 1:1
Canvas, 9:16
Lyric video, 16:9
Vertical clip, 9:16
Thumbnail, 16:9
Illustration made in-house. Shapes to scale by aspect ratio, not by pixel size.
What goes wrong when each piece comes from a different person? The cover designer picks one color set. The video editor picks another. Someone crops the landscape video to make vertical clips. That throws away most of the frame and cuts words off at the edges. The thumbnail ends up as an auto-picked frame from the middle of a verse. Each file passes its platform's rules, and the release still looks unplanned.
A real kit: Divi Roxx Kids, "Rock It Out"
Here is what one full, high-budget release from our studio looked like. It was for Divinity Roxx's kids project, from the album Starchild Vol. 1. Everything below came from one set of decisions: one character, one yellow and pink palette, one hand-lettered title.
The full delivery folder held:
- The lyric video in two masters: a standard file for YouTube and a higher-bitrate render for platforms and broadcast that take it. Watch it on YouTube.
- Promo clips: one teaser and two trailers, cut for the weeks before release. Here is the trailer.
- 11 thumbnail designs and 2 YouTube channel banners.
- A launch playbook and a release cheat sheet: our two-week plan for teasers, trailers, release day and the week after. Every full kit includes them.
- A character sheet and outfit art. That was this client's own request, not part of a standard kit.
Most releases don't need all of that. A typical kit is the lyric video, 4 to 5 short vertical clips, a Spotify Canvas and a thumbnail pack.
What you can make yourself and what to hand off
Here's an honest split.
- Cover art and thumbnails are doable in a design app if you have an eye for layout. Use the sizes in the table and check the art at phone size.
- The lyric video can come from Make Lyric Video. You can make the lyric video free: a full-length 720p video with a watermark on every frame, with no account or card. It's fine to post but not to monetize. $29 gets 1080p with no watermark and commercial rights, emailed to you.
- Vertical clips and the Canvas take more work. Our self-serve tool exports landscape video only. You'd crop a vertical cut in a phone editor, and cropping loses most of a wide frame. A clip designed for 9:16 from the start reads much better.
If you'd rather hire someone, our guide on how to hire a lyric video designer covers what to ask for and what to check first.
Get the whole release kit designed for you
Lyric video, vertical clips, thumbnails, Spotify Canvas and cover art, made as one set by our studio. Preview first, and a full refund if you don't like the preview.
Printable release visuals checklist
Print this or copy it into your notes. Tick each box as it's done.
23 or more days before release
- Palette and lyric font chosen
- Cover art started (square, 3000 px or larger)
9 or more days before release
- Cover art final: 1:1, 640 to 10,000 px, JPG, PNG or TIFF, sRGB, no URLs, logos, QR codes or prices
- Release and cover uploaded to your distributor
- Song pitched in Spotify for Artists once it shows in Upcoming (at least 7 days out)
Before release day
- Spotify Canvas uploaded: 9:16, 720 to 1,080 px tall, 3 to 8 seconds, no links or follow asks
- Lyric video uploaded and scheduled: 16:9, 1080p
- YouTube thumbnail set: 16:9, 640 px wide or more, from a verified channel
- First vertical clip cut: 9:16, text clear of the top 14% and bottom 35%
Release day and after
- Lyric video live with the song
- First vertical clip posted on Shorts, Reels and TikTok
- More clips scheduled for the weeks after
Start with the lyric video, free
Upload your song and get a full-length lyric video with the words timed and designed. Free at 720p with a watermark, not monetizable, no account, no card.
FAQ
What size should cover art be for Spotify and Apple Music?
Square, 1:1. Spotify accepts 640 to 10,000 pixels on each side, in JPG, PNG or TIFF with sRGB color, and asks for the highest resolution you have. Don't upscale a small image. Apple Music's style guide bans website addresses, logos, QR codes and pricing on the art. Starting at 3000 x 3000 pixels or larger covers both.
What size is a YouTube thumbnail for a music video?
YouTube suggests 3840 x 2160 pixels at 16:9, with a minimum width of 640 pixels, as a JPG or PNG. From a phone, the file must be under 2 MB. From a computer, the limit is 50 MB. Your channel must be verified to upload a custom thumbnail.
Do I need a lyric video if I have a music video?
They do different jobs. A lyric video gives fans the words to sing along to and catches searches for the song's lyrics. Many artists release both, weeks apart. If your budget allows only one, a lyric video costs far less to make than a shoot.
How early should cover art be ready before release?
At least 9 days before release. Spotify pitching needs 7 days, and a delivered release can take about 48 hours to appear in Spotify for Artists. Our studio recommends at least 2 weeks of design on top of that, so start 3 to 4 weeks out.
Can I use the same artwork for my Canvas and cover?
Yes, and Spotify encourages linking them. But don't just drop the square cover into a vertical frame. The Canvas is 9:16, and the edges can get cut off on some phones. Rebuild the key image for the tall shape and add slow movement so it loops well.
