Blog · 9 October 2026

Cover art sizes for Spotify, Apple Music and other stores

Make one file: a square JPG saved at full quality, 3000 by 3000 pixels, in RGB colour. It is the largest size TuneCore and CD Baby will take, what DistroKid and Apple's asset guide recommend, and above every distributor minimum we checked. Make it once and upload the same file everywhere.

Why 3000 by 3000 is the safe size

Spotify accepts anything from 640 to 10,000 pixels on each side. Apple's asset guide for labels and distributors recommends 3000. DistroKid says 3000 is the ideal. TuneCore and CD Baby accept nothing larger than 3000. So 3000 is the largest file all three distributors we checked will take. Soundae's release download is a 3000 by 3000 pixel JPG master, so it fits these limits as it is.

One thing to know as of 9 October 2026: the Apple Music for Artists page asks for at least 4000 by 4000 pixels, while Apple's own asset guide for labels and distributors recommends 3000 with a 1400 minimum. If you release through TuneCore or CD Baby, you cannot upload more than 3000 anyway. Do not enlarge the 3000 file to 4000: Apple's asset guide says not to upscale to meet a minimum.

The rules, store by store

Spotify. TIFF, PNG or JPG with lossless encoding. Between 640 and 10,000 pixels wide and tall, 1:1 aspect ratio, sRGB at 24 bits per pixel. Do not upscale. No embedded colour profiles or orientation metadata. Spotify cover art requirements.

Apple Music. JPG, PNG or GIF. A perfect square, at least 4000 by 4000 pixels. Apple's asset guide adds: RGB only, CMYK is not accepted, do not enlarge a smaller image to reach the minimum, and excessively blurry or pixelated images are rejected. Apple Music cover art.

DistroKid. JPG. Minimum 1000 by 1000, ideally a perfect square at 3000 by 3000. RGB colour space. One image file, no multiple pages of art. Smaller or rectangular art is adjusted automatically, and DistroKid warns the result may not look as intended. DistroKid artwork requirements.

TuneCore. JPG, PNG or GIF, smaller than 10 MB. A perfect square, at least 1600 by 1600 and no larger than 3000 by 3000. RGB colour mode, including black and white images. At least 72 dpi, and 300 is better. TuneCore cover art requirements.

CD Baby. PNG, GIF, JPG or JPEG, under 25 MB. 1400 by 1400 minimum, 3000 by 3000 maximum. 72 to 300 dpi. RGB, not CMYK. CD Baby artwork requirements.

Bandcamp. Square, at least 1400 by 1400, and bigger is better. Bandcamp design tutorial.

YouTube. For labels and distributors delivering to YouTube: PNG or JPEG, square, up to 4098 by 4098, recommended minimum 1400 by 1400 at 300 dpi. YouTube file formats.

What gets a release rejected

Most of the rules are about what is in the picture. All of it comes from the pages linked above and from CD Baby's list of restrictions.

• Text that does not match your metadata. An artist name or title on the cover must be exactly what you typed in the release form. CD Baby's example: the form says The Example Band, so the cover cannot say Example Band Official. TuneCore adds that a single's cover cannot carry the album title.
• Web addresses, QR codes, barcodes, email addresses, phone numbers, social media handles, or social media logos.
• Prices, the word "new", years or dates, promises like "includes DVD", and ads for merch or other albums.
• Store names or logos, claims like "iTunes exclusive", and references to CD, vinyl, "digital exclusive" or any other format.
• Blurry, pixelated, rotated, tilted, cropped or cut-off images (Apple allows these when they are clearly intended), or art squeezed into one corner with white space around it.
• Upscaled images. Spotify says do not upscale. Apple's asset guide says not to enlarge a smaller image to meet the minimum.
• Unlicensed stock photos, and any image whose rights you do not hold.
• Generic art. CD Baby says a solid colour square with no text may not be accepted. Apple says no misleading or generic cover art.
• The same artwork on more than one release. DistroKid says duplicate art may be rejected.
• Nudity, pornography, gore, and a parental advisory logo on a release that is not explicit.

One cover that works small and large

The same file has two jobs. In a phone's library grid it is a tiny square. On a release page it is the whole screen. Design for the small one first, because that is where people choose.

1. One focal point. A face, a hand, a doorway, a car. If the thumbnail has three subjects, it has none.
2. One colour floods the frame. In a grid, a cover reads as a block of colour before it reads as a picture. Pick the colour that belongs to the song and let it take over.
3. A visible light source. A lamp, a window, a screen, the sun. Light gives a small image depth and holds at full size.
4. A caught moment, not a pose. Something just happened or is about to. That tension survives shrinking.
5. Text: artist name and title, or nothing. Big, plain, away from the edges, or leave it out and let the metadata do the work.
6. Test it. Put a copy on your phone and look at it next to the covers in your library. If you cannot tell what it is at that size, change the picture.

At full size, the 3000-pixel master rewards a closer look: skin, fabric, the room, the weather. Clear when small, rich when large, and one file does both jobs.