Animated cover art is not showing on Apple Music

Animated album covers missing on Apple Music: the listener settings that switch them off, and the delivery mistakes that stop an artist's motion artwork from ever appearing.

Two completely different problems share this sentence. Either you are a listener and animated covers have stopped moving, or you are the artist and the motion artwork you delivered never appeared. Same words, opposite fixes.

If you are a listener

  • Reduce Motion switches them off. It lives in Settings, Accessibility, Motion, and it is the single most common cause
  • Low Power Mode stops them too, and switches itself on quietly at 20 percent battery
  • Animated art plays on the album page and the Now Playing screen. It is not a setting you enable per album
  • Not every release has it. Most do not, because it has to be delivered by the artist's distributor
  • Support is not identical across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and the web player, so a cover that moves on one can sit still on another
  • It does not apply to your own local files or to music you imported. There is nothing to turn on for those

If you are the artist

  • Was it actually delivered? It goes to Apple with the release through your distributor, so check which distributors deliver it before looking anywhere else
  • Did you send both files? The square and the portrait are a pair, and one on its own is not delivered
  • Are the two files the same length? A mismatch stops the delivery
  • Was it exported at 60 fps? Apple accepts 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 or 30 fps and nothing else
  • Did it have an audio track, even a silent one? That is a rejection
  • Was it sent after the release went live? Then it usually needs delivering again as an update rather than waiting
  • Is it a music video release? Motion art cannot be attached to one
  • Are you looking at a deluxe or alternative version of the album? Those are separate releases and need their own artwork

How long should it take to appear?

It appears with the release rather than after it, on the release date or the pre-order date. If the release is live and the animation is not, waiting will not fix it. Go back to your distributor.

Why does it move on my Mac but not my phone?

Because those are two different files. The square 3840 x 3840 file is what Mac, iPad and smart TVs show, and the portrait 2048 x 2732 file is what iPhone shows. One playing and the other not is the clearest sign that only one of the pair arrived.

Apple Music does not call it Canvas

Canvas is Spotify's name for its own feature, and it is not the same thing: a Canvas is a vertical 9:16 loop of 3 to 8 seconds that you upload yourself in Spotify for Artists. Apple's version is motion artwork, sometimes called album motion or animated cover art, it is square and portrait rather than vertical, it is longer, and only a distributor can deliver it. See Spotify Canvas size and specs for that side.

Common questions

Why is my animated album art not working?

Check Reduce Motion and Low Power Mode first, in that order. Between them they explain most cases where covers that used to move have stopped.

How do I turn animated cover art off?

Switching on Reduce Motion in Accessibility stops it, which is the same switch people reach for when they want it back on.

Does Apple Music have Canvas like Spotify?

It has its own version, called motion artwork. Same idea, different shape, different length, and delivered through your distributor rather than uploaded by you.

Can I add animated cover art to my own uploaded music?

No. It is delivered with a release on the store, so it does not apply to local files in your library.

Why do only some albums have it?

Because somebody made the files and paid to have them delivered. It is optional, and most releases skip it, which is exactly why the ones that have it stand out.

Last updated 2026-09-15

LimePulse is not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Spotify AB or Apple Inc. Product names are used only to describe what the software makes files for.