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How to Get Verified on Spotify, Apple Music & Instagram as an Artist

Honk Magazine

Getting that blue tick on Spotify, Apple Music, and Instagram is essential for legitimacy as an artist. That little blue checkmark tells fans, industry professionals, and the platforms themselves that you are an actual musician of note. How do you get verified on Spotify, Apple Music, and Instagram as an artist, and what are the main actions to take?

In this guide, we will dissect the verification process for each top-tier site, providing you with a roadmap to snagging that blue check and taking your music career to the next level. Verification establishes trust with your potential listeners. It makes your content more visible in searches, translating to better access to playlist placements, brand deals, and media opportunities. Here’s how every platform leverages verification to its advantage for artists:

Apple Music: A verified profile helps you manage your artist page, connect with your fans directly, and better showcase your brand.

Instagram: Having a blue check increases credibility, visibility in search results, and engagement with your content.

A step-by-step guide to verifications on these platforms. Now, let’s examine how to get verified on each platform.

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How to Verify Your Spotify Account

Now, you can get verified on Spotify more quickly than you think without having a large following. Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1: Claiming Your Spotify for Artists Profile

  • Go to artists.
  • Spotify.
  • Visit artists.spotify.com and sign in.
  • Click “Claim Your Profile.”

If you aren’t yet listed, make your music available through a distributor like DistroKid, TuneCore, or CD Baby.

Step 2: Pull together a Portfolio of Your Artist Profile

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  • Use a nice profile photo and cover photo.
  • Write a hooky artist bio with your social media links.
  • Use a consistent artist name on every streaming platform.
  • Takeaway 3: Film Short Videos & Engage Your Audience
  • Keep the momentum going by releasing new music often.
  • Hyping tracks + getting them onto Spotify playlists via Spotify for Artists.
  • Share your Spotify link all over your social media to get more streams.

STEP 4: Obtain Verification (Automatic Step)

After you’re approved for Spotify for Artists, you automatically earn the blue checkmark on your profile—no additional application is necessary!

How to Be Verified on Apple Music

On the other hand, Apple Music verification only works if you use Apple Music for Artists and go through a particular process (as opposed to the one for Spotify).

Step 1: Create an Apple Music for Artists Account

  • Visit artists.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID.
  • Click on Request Artist Access and search for your artist profile
  • If you already have music on Apple Music, pick it from the list and sign in.

Step 2: Confirm Your Identity

You must show proof of owning it, including social media accounts or distributor credentials.

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If you oversee a team, you can add bandmates or managers to access your artist profile.

Step 3: Fill out & Lean into Your Profile

Refresh your profile photo and bio.

After Apple sends you a request, you must review and approve it to receive official verification of your artist page, making it more legitimate and professional.

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Getting Verified on Instagram

Instagram’s process for verifying accounts is more selective, but here’s what you can do to improve your chances:

Step 1: The minimum requirements

Instagram generally verifies accounts that consist of:

✔ Verified – Belongs to a real person or public figure.

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✔ Significant – Commonly consulted and reported on.

✔ Complete: Public profile, bio, and active content

Step 2: Go to Instagram Settings and Apply for Verification

  • Tap Settings > Account > Request Verification.
  • Enter your real name, artist name, and category (Musician/Band).
  • Links to press articles, official website, and social media accounts demonstrating your notability

Step 3: Build Presence & Interest

Last Note: Obtain Verified Quickly

Pros: Each creative is unique, so we must use the skills and tips that work best for us.

  • Build Your Following Naturally: Don’t buy fake followers or streams. Stations can see this and will enact penalties.
  • Get Featured in Blogs, Podcasts, or Music Magazines: When you make it to blogs, podcasts, or music magazines, your credibility skyrockets. Check out this article on the Best Sites to Submit Your Music as an Independent Artist in 2025
  • Work with verified artists: Partnering with other existing verified artists to gain a referral can boost your chances.
  • Be Patient and Persistent. If your request is rejected, upgrade your profile and reapply for the card later.

To be verified on Spotify, Apple Music, and even Instagram is about cementing your identity as an artist and paving the way to greater opportunities. Following this will build your credibility, fanbase, and the recognition you deserve.

Well, if you haven’t, go ahead and lay claim to your profiles, optimize your content, and work toward getting that blue check tomorrow.

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Artist Spotlight

Cheryl Craigie reimagines “What’s Going On” through a classic soul lens

Cheryl Craigie

Some songs belong to an era, and others keep talking to every generation. Cheryl Craigie’s cover of “What’s Going On is a prime example of the latter, imbuing a classic soul sensibility into a song whose themes of compassion, understanding, unity, and concern for others are as relevant today as ever.

Cheryl Craigie is an independent singer, songwriter, and musician, and she has a strong artistic purpose with this release. She does Marvin Gaye’s beloved original justice while letting the timeless message sing in her own voice. Craigie’s approach is to speak to the need for kindness and human connection.

“What’s Going On is rooted in a timeless identity that is soulful and classic in style, and emotionally it’s about reflection and empathy. This approach relies on the vocal performance, which injects a unique element that helps magnify the song’s bigger message. The production does not detract from the themes that make the song so long-lasting, but rather supports the release by reinforcing its classic character.

What’s particularly interesting about Cheryl Craigie’s release is the balance she strikes between respecting the source material and asserting her own artistic presence. She knows the power of a song already part of music history and uses her interpretation to reconnect listeners with its core ideas. For Craigie, “What’s Going On” is a manifestation of an artist in love with music, with emotional and social weight, and of using her voice to carry the ageless soul message forward.

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Artist Spotlight

With “Who Am I Now” Intaluks explores identity, healing, and renewal

Intaluks

“Who Am I Now” is the Intaluks’ method of shifting the atmospheric emotion, an introspective melodic trance on loss, identity, healing, and the hard work of rebuilding when life takes an unexpected turn. The musical direction is a slow emotional journey, starting in darkness and gradually opening to hope and renewal.

This production frames that journey with expressive male vocals, emotional piano, and trance textures. “Who Am I Now” leaves its mark in the feel department through progression and atmosphere, not with a dramatic festival-type drop. The arrangement gives the song a reflective feel but still maintains the forward momentum of melodic trance.

The male delivery lends a human presence to the themes of uncertainty and self-reconstruction in the song’s vocals. The track tells of an inner journey, accompanied by the piano, the cinematic production, and the experience of confronting a changed reality, asking yourself who you are now, and slowly finding the strength to move forward.

Rather than relying on spectacle, Intaluks focuses on emotional development, letting the song’s mood build organically rather than through a traditional climax. The result is a trance piece so cinematic it feels as much about reflection as it does about forward motion, connecting electronic atmosphere with a highly personal theme. In “Who Am I Now,” Intaluks offers a release defined by transition rather than closure. The sound is its greatest triumph, reflecting that journey and making darkness the beginning of a brighter artistic path.

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