To release your song on Spotify from India, you upload your track to a music distributor, add your song details and cover art, choose your release date, and the distributor delivers it to Spotify for you. You cannot upload to Spotify directly — Spotify only accepts music from approved distributors. The whole process takes about 10 minutes of work, plus a 1–2 week wait before your release date.
If you're not sure what a distributor is yet, read music distribution in India first, then come back.
Before you start — what you need ready
- Your final, mastered song as a WAV file (16-bit or 24-bit).
- Cover art: a square image, 3000×3000px, JPG or PNG, under 4MB, with no logos or website URLs.
- Your artist name exactly as you want it to appear.
- A distributor account (this guide uses Grootin).
- A release date at least 1–2 weeks away.
Step 1: Start a new release
Sign in to your Grootin account and click "New Release." Choose Single for your first release — it's the simplest way to learn the flow.
Step 2: Upload your audio file
Click Upload and select your WAV file. Wait for the green checkmark that confirms the file is accepted. Don't upload an MP3 — it's lower quality and may be rejected.
Step 3: Fill in your song details (metadata)
Enter your song title, primary artist name, featured artists, genre, language, and composer/lyricist credits — spelled correctly. Fixing metadata after release is slow and sometimes impossible, so double-check every spelling now.
Step 4: Add your cover art
Upload your 3000×3000px square cover. No website URLs, no social handles, and no logos that aren't yours — Spotify rejects art that breaks these rules, and that delays your release.
Step 5: Set your royalty splits
If you made the song with other people, add each collaborator and their percentage. Grootin pays everyone automatically at the source, so you never have to transfer anyone's share by hand later. Made the song alone? Skip this step.
Step 6: Choose your platforms
Select all 150+ platforms (the default). Confirm Spotify, JioSaavn, Apple Music, and YouTube Music are all ticked. Leave them on unless you have a specific reason not to.
Step 7: Pick your release date and submit
Choose a date at least 1–2 weeks away — ideally a Friday. The lead time lets the distributor deliver everywhere and lets you pitch Spotify editorial playlists before the song goes live (at least 7 days ahead). Then hit Submit.
What happens after you submit
Grootin delivers your song to every platform over the next few days; it appears on Spotify on your release date; you pitch playlists via Spotify for Artists; and streaming royalties accumulate and reach you over the following 1–3 months.
Quick tips for your first release
Claim your Spotify for Artists profile, pitch before release, release on a Friday, set up a pre-save link to drive day-one streams, and don't panic if numbers are slow — streaming builds over weeks, not hours.
Ready to compare distributors before you commit? Read DistroKid vs Grootin vs TuneCore vs CD Baby.