How to Claim Your Apple Music for Artists Profile

Apple Music for Artists is Apple’s free dashboard for analytics, Shazam data, and profile customization. Claiming it takes a bit more patience than Spotify, since Apple manually verifies that you’re the actual primary artist behind a release. Here’s the official process.

Before you start

• Your music needs to be live on Apple Music for at least five working days before you can start a claim — this gives Apple’s systems time to fully process and catalog your release.
• You’ll need an Apple Account (formerly known as an Apple ID). If you don’t have one, you can create one for free during the process.
• You’ll need your iTunes Store artist page link. Find it by opening the Music or iTunes Store app, going to your artist page, tapping the “More” button, choosing “Share,” then “Copy.”

Step-by-step: claiming your profile

1. Download the Apple Music for Artists app (iOS only) or go to the Apple Music for Artists website, and sign in with your Apple Account.
2. Tap “Request Artist Access.”
3. Paste your artist page link (or search your artist name) in the “Find an Artist” field.
4. Select one of your albums or releases to confirm which artist page you’re claiming.
5. Confirm your role: Artist, Manager, or Label Representative.
6. Fill out the verification form. Apple asks for supporting information — connecting a social media account or your distributor login speeds this up considerably, since it helps Apple confirm you’re really linked to the release.
7. Submit your request. Your application status will show as “Pending.” Apple sends updates to the email address tied to your Apple Account.

An important eligibility rule

You must be the primary artist on at least one release to claim a page. If you only appear as a featured artist, Apple’s system won’t let you claim the profile — this is a hard rule, not a setting you can change.

After you’re approved

Once verified, you can:

• Update your artist photo and header image.
• Edit your bio.
• Review lyrics and song credits.
• See detailed analytics: total plays, Shazam counts, radio spins, playlist placements, and where your listeners actually live.
• Manage who else on your team has access — Admins can approve or remove additional users.

If it doesn’t work

Two common snags: the platform tells you that you’re “not the primary artist” (usually because of how the release was credited in the metadata your distributor submitted), or your artist name doesn’t appear at all yet because the five-working-day processing window hasn’t passed. Double-check your release credits with your label or distributor if the issue persists.

Sources: Apple Music for Artists — “Claim your artist page” (artists.apple.com/support/1101-claim-your-account).