Spotify Artist URI vs URL: How to Find and Share Each

Two formats for one artist destination

A distributor may ask you for a Spotify artist link while you are preparing a release. Spotify offers both a URL and a URI for the same profile destination. The difference is the format and how the link is used, not a different artist account.

Spotify's support guide to artist, track, and release links describes the URL as a web address and the URI as Spotify's own format. Its example shows a URL beginning with open.spotify.com/artist/ and a URI beginning with spotify:artist:. Both point to the artist profile.

The shareable URL

The URL is the option most people can paste into a text, email, website, press kit, or social post. It opens a page that listeners can use in Spotify on desktop or mobile, depending on their device and settings. Keep a clean copy in your release notes so collaborators can reach the intended profile without searching by name alone.

To copy it from the Spotify app, open your artist profile, select the three-dot menu, choose Share, and copy the artist link. Spotify's help page describes similar steps on mobile. If your profile is not live yet, the page says to ask the label or distributor for the link they receive when the music is first delivered.

The Spotify URI

A URI is the same destination expressed in Spotify's platform-specific format. It may look like spotify:artist: followed by an identifier. It is useful in workflows that accept a Spotify URI, including some distributor or platform forms. It is not a second account and it is not a replacement for a public web link in every context.

Spotify's support instructions show how to copy the URI on desktop: open the artist profile, use the Share menu, then hold Alt on Windows or Option on Mac while selecting Copy Spotify URI. The exact menu can vary as Spotify updates its apps, so use the current support instructions if the interface changes.

Which one should you give a distributor?

Follow the distributor's field label and its current delivery instructions. Spotify says its preferred and recommended distributors let artists include an artist link when delivering music, and that providing the artist URL or URI can help the release land on the right profile. If the form requests an artist URL, paste the web link. If it explicitly requests a URI, paste the Spotify URI.

Before submitting, verify that the link opens the intended artist page. This is especially important when an artist name is shared by multiple performers, when a new artist profile is being claimed, or when a release includes several primary or featured artists. Do not assume that a similar name is the same profile.

If the profile is not live or an upcoming release does not appear in Spotify for Artists, contact the distributor or label that delivered it. Spotify's help page says unreleased releases can be found under Music and Upcoming when they are available in the account; its page also advises contacting the label or distributor if the link is not available.

A quick link check before delivery

• Copy the artist URL from the profile and open it once to confirm the destination.
• If the delivery form requests a URI, use the desktop Copy Spotify URI option rather than typing a value by hand.
• Keep the artist link with the release metadata and note which primary artist it belongs to.
• Ask the distributor how to enter multiple artist profiles or featured-artist links if the form is unclear.
• Recheck the live release after delivery and report a profile-mapping issue through the distributor's correction process.

An artist URL is also useful for a press kit or direct-to-fan page, while the URI is most useful when a tool specifically asks for Spotify's URI format. Keep both where practical, label them clearly, and use the one that matches the destination field.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Spotify URI a web address?

It is a Spotify URI format rather than the same text as a web URL. Spotify says the URI serves the same purpose as the URL but uses a different format.

Can I use the URI in a social post?

For broad sharing, the artist URL is usually the clearer option because it is a web link. Use the URI when the app, distributor, or workflow asks for that format.

What if the artist profile is not live yet?

Ask the label or distributor that delivered the music for the profile link. Spotify says the distributor receives a link when music is first delivered, and upcoming releases can also appear in Spotify for Artists when available.