QR code for music, Spotify and audio

The tool above takes one link. The steps are the same for a streaming page, a download or a release page.

1. Decide what the scan should do: open a track in Spotify, open a Bandcamp release, play a hosted audio file, or go to a page that sells the download.
2. Copy the share link from the service, or upload the audio file to your own host and copy its URL. For a streaming service, use the public share link rather than the URL from your logged-in dashboard.
3. Paste the link above. Keep the default dark-on-light colours unless the artwork gives you a specific reason to change them, and keep the contrast strong.
4. Add a logo only if the print needs it. The logo covers part of the code, so error correction is forced to High and the code may become denser.
5. Scan the preview, then scan a printed proof at the final size. Check it on two phones, because camera apps differ.

A Spotify, SoundCloud or Bandcamp link opens a player. The listener needs the service, an account in some cases and a connection. A link to an audio file opens or downloads the file itself. Both can sit behind a QR code, but they create different expectations.

For a track that is already streaming, a streaming link is usually the right destination: it is familiar, it opens the artwork and the artist, and it does not ask you to host a file. For a download you are selling, a file link is the product. Decide which one the person scanning is trying to do.

Music is often shared in places where a link cannot be tapped: a gig poster, a sticker on a laptop, a lyric sheet, a CD or vinyl sleeve. The code can send someone to the release, the tour page or a download they buy at the show.

Print small codes at a size that survives the material. A code on a sticker or a business card can be around 2 cm square; a code on a poster needs to be readable from the distance people stand. Keep the quiet zone even when the artwork is busy, and do not place the code over a dark or textured part of the sleeve without a light background behind it.

If the code is going on merch, test it after the print process, not just on the proof PDF. A curved bottle, a matte sleeve and a glossy sticker all behave differently.

A QR code on a card at the merch table can sell the download after the set. The buyer scans, pays and gets the file; you do not need to take an email address or hand over a USB stick. The link can expire after the tour, or be capped at a number of unlocks if you want a limited run.

Unlockable is for selling the file: set a price from £5, and the link can expire or be capped. On a paid sale, 10% comes from the creator and a 10% privacy and security fee is added to the buyer’s total; card processing is covered. Unlockable is not a merchant of record, so you handle your own tax.

For a free download, host the audio elsewhere and paste that link into the generator. The PDF and image routes have free options; audio is a sold file here, and the page should not pretend otherwise.

This generator makes static codes. The link is written into the pattern, with no redirect service that can switch it off or charge to keep it alive. If the track or download page stays online, the code keeps working.

A dynamic code points at a redirect the provider controls. That can be edited and counted, but it depends on the provider. This page does not make dynamic codes and does not promise per-code scan counts.

On an Unlockable link, the creator can set an expiry or cap the number of unlocks. The code remains static; the creator is choosing how long the destination stays open. The app’s stats show views, unlocks and earnings by share channel, including QR code.

Keep the quiet zone. Use dark modules on a light background with at least 4:1 contrast; the generator warns below that and warns if the colours are inverted. A code printed over artwork needs a clean light area behind it, not just a white border drawn on top.

As a rule of thumb, do not go below about 2 cm (0.8 in) square, and allow roughly 1 cm of code for every 10 cm of scanning distance. A code on a poster read from two metres away wants about 20 cm. Test the printed piece on two phones.

The free QR code generator handles any link. For a video, use the video QR code; for a social profile, try the Instagram QR code. To sell music and sample packs, see selling music and selling sample packs.