Changing Artist Names

Updating your artist name might sound simple, but it can actually create significant complications and is generally a lengthy process. When your name changes, platforms like Spotify or Apple Music often treat it as a brand-new artist profile. This means your current profile, along with any followers and monthly listeners you've built up, may be lost. 

Changing artist names can confuse your fans' ability to find your content. For example, Apple Music generally doesn’t allow artists' names on existing content to be changed. In that case, only your future releases will appear under the new name, while earlier tracks will remain linked to the original profile, splitting your content into two different pages. 

Want to Proceed? Here's What to Do:

You have not previously released content:

If you haven’t released any music yet (you are a new artist), and you have a Starter account with us, you can contact us to review the name change for your artist.

If you haven't released any music yet and are on a Partner plan (percentage-based), you can create a new artist under your artist roster (Catalog ► Artists).

With that being said, if you're planning on changing your artist name, try to make your new artist name as unique as possible, while avoiding any unnecessary special symbols/characters and emojis. You're likely to run into some trouble using a more generic artist name, like 'Josh W'. You may experience instances where there are multiple 'Josh W' artist names and pages on DSPs, and sometimes their content may, inadvertently, align with your artist page.

You have previously released content/content is currently live on DSPs:

If you have already released music and have a Starter plan, we are unable to change your artist name. You are welcome to sign up for a new Starter account, to begin releasing new content under a new artist name. Still, any previously live content will need to remain under your original artist name. Symphonic will not approve any releases that are/were previously live under a different artist name.

If you have already released music and have a Partner plan (percentage-based), we may be able to assist with the artist name change. Please reach out to us with your request, and our team will review it accordingly.

If you’re transferring your content to Symphonic, please ensure that your artist name (or any collaborator’s name) remains the same as it was in the originally released content. Changing the artist name while transferring content to Symphonic can result in a DSP hiding the release due to mismatched metadata.