How to Get Verified on Instagram as a Musician

Chasing that blue checkmark next to your artist's name on Instagram feels like a rite of passage, but the path to getting one is often misunderstood. It isn't about having a huge follower count or being famous overnight, it's about proving you are a notable public figure in your field. This guide walks you through the exact criteria Instagram uses and gives you an actionable, musician-specific strategy to build your case and submit your verification request with confidence.

What Does the Blue Check Actually Mean on Instagram?

First, let’s clear up a common misconception: the blue check doesn't mean Instagram thinks your music is great or that you’re a "better" creator. It has one simple purpose: to confirm the authenticity of a public figure or brand. Essentially, it’s Instagram’s way of saying, “Yes, this is the real account for this person that people are likely searching for.” To get verified, you have to prove you meet their four core standards of Authenticity, Uniqueness, Completeness, and Notability.

Authentic: You Are Who You Say You Are

This is the easiest one. Your account must represent a real person or registered business. For a musician or a band, this just means you are the genuine artist you claim to be. During the application, you’ll confirm this with a government-issued photo ID (like a driver's license or passport) or official business documents if you operate as an LLC.

Unique: The One and Only You

Your account must be the unique presence of the person or band it represents. Instagram typically only verifies one account per person, with exceptions for language-specific accounts. This means you can't have five different "official" accounts for your act. If you’re a solo artist, it's about your primary profile. Keep everything centralized. If other fan accounts or impersonators exist, that actually helps your case - more on that later.

Complete: Your Profile is Polished and Professional

Instagram wants to verify accounts that are active and professionally presented. This is an easy place to score points before you even apply. A complete profile for a musician should include:

• A Professional Profile Photo: A clear headshot or official band photo. No blurry concert pics or random graphics.
• A Detailed Bio: Your bio should immediately identify you as a musician. Include your genre, your role (e.g., singer/songwriter, producer, DJ), and a contact for bookings or management.
• A Link in Bio: This is a must. Use a service like Linktree or Beacons to send fans to your new single on Spotify, your latest music video, your tour dates, and your official website.
• Public Account: Your profile must be public. Private accounts cannot be verified.
• Recent Activity: The account must have a post history. You can't start a fresh account and ask for verification, you need to show you’re an active member of the community.

Notable: The Most Important (and Toughest) Requirement

This is where most musicians get stuck. Instagram defines a notable account as one that represents a "well-known, highly searched for person, brand, or entity." They check this by looking for press about you from multiple, reputable news sources. Importantly, paid or sponsored content does not count. You can't buy your way to notability.

This is a big roadblock, but it's also where you have the most control. You can’t magically gain 100,000 search queries overnight, but you can systematically build a public profile that makes you undeniably "notable" in the eyes of an Instagram reviewer. The rest of this guide is dedicated to showing you exactly how.

Building Your Case: How to Prove You're "Notable" as a Musician

Getting your verification request approved is all about the prep work. The application itself takes five minutes, but building a strong case for notability can take months or even years. If you’re serious about getting verified, focus your energy on these areas before you click "Request Verification."

Earn Your Press Mentions (The Right Way)

This is the single most important factor. The Instagram review team is small and they are manually checking your application against publicly available information. The links you provide in your application are their primary evidence. Your job is to make their decision easy by providing high-quality, independent press features.

Types of press that count:

• Music Blogs: A feature, interview, or album review on a respected music blog (think Pitchfork, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, or even smaller, genre-specific blogs).
• Magazine or Newspaper Articles: Getting a write-up in a local paper about your upcoming tour, a feature in a music magazine, or even a mention in a broader cultural publication works wonders.
• Podcast Interviews: Appearing as a guest on a well-regarded podcast where you discuss your music or career signals notability.

What doesn't count:

• Paid Placements or Sponsored Content: An article marked as "sponsored" or "advertorial" will be ignored. It must be editorial press.
• Press Releases: Distributing a press release via a wire service is not the same as having a journalist write a story about you.
• Your Own Blog or Website: Citing your own content proves nothing except that you can publish to the internet.
• Social Media Mentions: While being tagged by other famous artists is great for your exposure, it's not considered press for verification purposes.

Actionable Strategy: Start treating public relations (PR) as a core part of your music strategy. Compile a list of 50-100 mid-tier music blogs that cover artists in your genre. Find the email addresses for their editors or writers and craft a personal, compelling pitch for your next single, album, or tour. Hiring a freelance publicist for a specific release can also target this need directly.

Strengthen Your Digital Footprint Beyond Instagram

Instagram wants to verify people who have a presence in the public sphere, not just within their app. A strong digital footprint signals that you exist and are notable "out in the world."

Key areas to build out your online presence:

1. A Professional Website: Your official website is your home base. It should include your bio, discography, high-res photos, tour dates, and an Electronic Press Kit (EPK). An EPK makes it easy for journalists to find everything they need to write about you.
2. Verified Streaming Profiles: Go through the process to get your artist pages verified on Spotify and Apple Music. Those platforms have their own 'checkmarks' that add to your overall legitimacy.
3. A Wikipedia Page: This is a powerful signal of notability but also the hardest to get. You cannot create a Wikipedia page for yourself, it must be created by an independent editor who deems you "noteworthy" based on your other press and accomplishments. If you have enough legitimate press, a Wikipedia page will often follow organically.
4. Presence on Other Platforms: Maintain active, professional profiles on other relevant platforms like YouTube, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Facebook showing your artist name is consistent across the web.

Understand Your Audience and the 'Risk of Impersonation'

While follower count isn’t listed as an official requirement, having a decent-sized, engaged audience helps frame your account as "highly searched for." Instagram is more likely to verify an artist with 10,000 active fans than one with 200, as the former is more likely to be impersonated.

Demonstrating a high likelihood of impersonation gives your application a sense of urgency. If you have any fan accounts, tribute bands, or fraudulent profiles using your name, this supports your case. You’re not just asking for a status symbol, you’re asking Instagram to help protect your name and prevent your audience from being confused or scammed.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Requesting Your Verification

Once you’ve put in the work and have a handful of strong press links, it's time to apply. The process is simple and done directly through the Instagram app.

1. Navigate to your profile, tap the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to open the menu.
2. Go to Settings and privacy.
3. If you have a creator account, tap on Creator tools and controls. If it's a business account, tap on Business tools and controls.
4. Scroll down and tap Request verification.
5. You will be taken to a form. Enter your full legal name and upload a photo of your government-issued ID.
6. Next, confirm your notability. Select "Musician/Band" as your category and list the country where you are most known.
7. This last part is the most critical: the Links section. Add up to five links to articles, social media accounts, and other sources that show you’re a public figure. Prioritize your strongest, independent press features here. Avoid linking to your own website or other purely promotional profiles.
8. Tap Submit and wait. The review process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. You'll receive a notification in your activity feed with the result.

What Happens if Your Verification Request is Denied?

Don't be discouraged. Most musicians are denied the first time they apply. It’s not a personal judgment, it's simply a sign that your profile didn't meet the "notability" standard at that moment.

Instagram makes it clear: a denial doesn't mean you can't get verified in the future. You are allowed to re-apply every 30 days. Don’t just submit the same application over and over again. Use the next 30 days productively:

• Pitch new music to press. Every new feature makes your next application stronger.
• Optimize your other online presences. Did a new article come out about you? Add it to your EPK.
• Keep creating great content. Grow your community on Instagram and other platforms authentically. Focus on building real connections with your audience. The verification is a byproduct of that work, not the goal itself.

Treat your first denial as helpful feedback. The system is telling you, "not yet." Go back to building your press kit and strengthening your wider online presence, and try again when you have new evidence to share.

Final Thoughts

Getting verified on Instagram as a musician is less about a single tactic and more about a sustained strategy of building your public profile. The blue check is earned by demonstrating your notability through legitimate press features and a strong online footprint far beyond just the app itself. By focusing on your PR and building a cohesive artist brand across the web, you're not just preparing an application - you are advancing your music career.

Building that notable presence requires consistent, high-quality content across all your platforms. To help stay on top of that relentless schedule, we built Postbase as a simple way for creators to plan, schedule, and analyze their content - especially video like Reels and Shorts, which are essential for musicians today. It's a clean, modern tool designed to make managing your social media easier, not another complicated platform that gets in your way.