[FAQ]

Hi,

I manage a small indie band here in the UK, and we’re getting our first batch of physical merch printed up for our upcoming tour.

I keep seeing these ‘Spotify Codes’ – the little waveform-looking scannable things. I know you can generate them for an artist profile, a specific album, or even a playlist. My question is, are these actually effective in the real world? We’re thinking of putting our profile’s code on our gig posters and maybe on the back of our new t-shirts.

Does this genuinely help convert people who see us live into long-term followers? It seems like a neat way to bridge the gap between someone seeing a poster and actually getting them to listen, rather than hoping they remember our name to look up later.

Are there any best practices for this? Like, is it better to link to the new single or the whole artist profile? And are there design guidelines, like a minimum size so they actually scan properly on a crowded poster?

Any advice would be brilliant.

[Jeff Bullas]

This is a smart way to bridge the physical and digital gap.

Short Answer: A Spotify Code is a scannable image, much like a QR code, that links directly to your audio content. The most effective way to use this image on physical materials is to link it to your main artist profile and always include a clear, text-based call-to-action.

Let’s look at how this simple image format can convert a passive viewer into an active listener.

A Spotify Code is a unique visual hyperlink that you can generate for any piece of your content, whether that is your artist profile’s full audio catalog, a specific single, or a curated playlist. The key to using it effectively on physical, image-based marketing like posters or merchandise is threefold. First, you must include a clear text-based instruction, such as ‘Scan to listen on Spotify’, as many users will not immediately recognise the image format. Second, for broad promotion like a poster or business card, it is almost always better to link the image to your full artist profile, as this encourages a ‘Follow’ rather than just a single stream. Third, you must ensure the code’s image is printed at a large enough size and with enough contrast to be easily scannable, so always test the physical print with your phone’s camera before committing to a full run.

Cheers,

Jeff

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