Claiming your Official Artist Channel on YouTube is quick and easy when you use DistroKid.
How to claim your YouTube Official Artist Channel:
- Make sure you already have a channel dedicated to your content as an artist on YouTube, and that this channel has artist content uploaded to it. If not, please create one, and name it after your artist name.*
Note that you can apply for a blank, new channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel, but if there is no existing, independent content on that channel, the request may take longer to process. - Make sure your artist has at least one release that has selected "Google Play/YouTube" as a streaming service within DistroKid.
- Go to the YouTube Official Artist Channel section of your DistroKid account (Click the "Goodies" menu > "Streaming service things").
- Select the artist you want to associate with your YouTube channel.
- Authenticate into your YouTube account.
- Claim your channel!
- Done!
*A few notes:
- Official Artist Channels are still in Beta, while we can help with troubleshooting issues, any support requests may take longer than normal to be processed
- You can only link one artist to a YouTube account. A label channel cannot be converted to an Official Artist Channel.
- The entirety of applying for an Official Artist Channel is generally quick, though it can take anywhere from a few days, to a few weeks. Please allow up to 3 weeks for your channel to be designated as an Official Artist Channel.
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Once your Official Artist Channel is approved, you'll have access to some exciting new features on YouTube, including:
- Increased visibility through YouTube search
- Access to artist specific tools and analytics in YouTube Studio
- The ability to update your YouTube Music pic & bio
- Exclusive access to data and analytics through YouTube Analytics for Artist
- A verified music note next to your channel name
Here’s a video from YouTube with some additional info about what it means when DistroKid helps you qualify for an Official Artist Channel:
Enjoy!