Overview & Specs


Sparta supports Motion Art delivery to Apple Music. The Motion Art feature is intended to provide a richer listening experience for users and increase engagement with your music. 


Motion Art consists of two video files in different aspect ratios for each release:


  • 1:1 - displayed on on Mac, iPad, and smart TVs.
  • 3:4 - displayed on iOS.


Motion Art delivery requirements:


  • Two Motion Art video files are required for each product: 2048x2732 pixels (3:4) and 3840x3840 pixels (1:1).
  • Sparta will validate the duration, frames per second, codec and color space of each video.
  • Motion Art videos that do not meet Apple's guidelines will be rejected.
  • Motion Art videos will go live on the Release Date specified in AudioSalad, or Pre-Order Date if present.
  • Once delivered to Apple Music, Motion Art files cannot be removed.
  • Motion Art cannot be added to music video releases.
  • Motion Art for artist profiles cannot be delivered via AudioSalad.


Motion Art file format specs:


  • Video codec: Apple ProRes 422 or Apple ProRes 4444 with .mov extension
  • Resolution: 3840x3840 pixels (1:1) and 2048x2732 pixels (3:4) 
  • Frame rate: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, or 30 FPS
  • Color space: Rec 709 or sRGB
  • Duration: 15-35 seconds


For complete details about Motion Art formatting and guidelines, please review the following documentation from Apple Music:


Apple Music Style Guide - Motion Album Artwork

Apple Music Album Motion Partner Guidelines



Uploading Motion Art Video Files



Motion Art video files are uploaded and stored within the Assets tab of a release. In order for Sparta to deliver the Motion Art videos and specify the correct formatting to Apple Music, the videos must be applied the following values in the Description column:


  • motion_art_1:1 - Description used for the square video file. 
  • motion_art_3:4 - Description used for the portrait video file for iOS.


See the screenshot below for an example of how this should appear within Sparta. Note the slight difference between the name and description:




The file names can be customized to your preference, but make sure the Description is correctly set in order to ensure successful Motion Art delivery to Apple Music.