How to Get Verified as a Musician on Instagram
If you’ve ever dreamed of being verified on Instagram, you’re not alone. That little blue checkmark sends a signal of quality and authority, and it’s highly coveted in the digital world.
As an artist, your music page (whether it’s the same as your personal account or not) may be a perfect candidate for verification. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as saying you’re a musician and hoping for the best.
Instagram is notoriously selective—and, dare we say, mysterious—in its approach to granting verification. According to Facebook’s guidelines, here are a few of the requirements they look for as they determine which accounts to verify on Instagram.
Authentic
Accounts that are eligible for verification must represent a real person, entity, or business.
Complete
Accounts that are eligible for verification must be public. The profiles must be fully filled out, including a profile picture, account bio, and at least one post. The company will also deny verification for accounts that use the bio space to request that followers add them on other social media platforms.
Unique
Accounts that are eligible for verification must be unique, meaning that there is only one account representing one person or entity. The only exception here is for language-specific accounts, like brands that have multiple accounts to reach user bases in different countries.
Notable
Last but not least, accounts that are eligible for verification must represent a well-known person or entity. For most people, this is the most challenging requirement to meet.
The goal of verification—from Instagram’s perspective—is to give users the peace of mind that the account they’re engaging with actually represents the person or entity it says it represents. Since thousands of copycat accounts exist for celebrities and other well-known figures, this intention makes sense. It helps users assess which account they actually intended to follow and which ones to ignore.
Instagram’s assessment of “notable” figures, according to its website, includes accounts that are featured in multiple news sources and generally have an online presence that’s widely recognized.
With those general requirements in mind, let’s take a closer look at the process to actually apply for Instagram verification.
The Process to Request Instagram Verification
The application process itself is deceptively simple, so it’s important that you spend time focusing on the above requirements before you apply. Once you feel confident in your profile’s authenticity, completion, uniqueness, and notability, here’s what you should do next.
- Make sure you’re logged into the right account
Before you begin the application process, make sure you’re logged into the account you want to request verification for. For example, if you have both a personal account and a band account, you’ll want to be logged into the one you’re hoping to get verified (likely the band account based on the requirements we outlined above).
- Prepare your account
Next, give your profile one last once-over to make sure you meet the requirements Instagram is looking for. Make sure you have a profile photo and a filled-out bio with no cross-platform promotion. Then, move out to step three.
- Go to your profile and tap the three lines in the top right
No explanation needed here—click away.
- Tap “Settings,” then “Account,” then “Request Verification”
Also self-explanatory. Tap tap tap!
- Enter your full name and upload a form of identification
Make sure that for this first step, you’re using your legal name as it appears on your identification document. Then, upload a clear image of that form of ID that matches the legal name you’ve supplied.
- Select the public interest category your account falls in
Next, you’ll be asked to select the “public interest category” that your account falls in. Since you’re reading this blog, you’ll probably fall into the music category.
- Describe your audience
This question is optional, but we’d recommend filling it out anyway just to increase your odds of success. Explain a bit about who follows you on Instagram and why they love to engage with your content.
- List any nicknames or alternate names you’ve gone by
Since you’ve shared your legal name above, this is the time to share any nicknames or music-specific names that you might also appear as online. This will help the verification staff research your prominence in the industry and clarify your digital persona. If your public name as a musician is exactly your legal name, no need to worry about this section.
- Link to pages that show why your account is in the public interest
This final question is the most important for your chances at approval. It’s where you’ll link to any news appearances or other sources that can prove your legitimacy as a “public interest.” Note that promotional content you’ve created yourself (or paid for directly) won’t be taken into account here, so you’ll need legitimate press to work with. For this reason, many people apply for verification after they’ve just had a new release or a handful of press features so that their relevance in the news is especially timely.
- Click “Submit”
That’s it! Click the button to submit, and you’ll hear back via your Instagram notifications page within 30 days.
You can reapply for verification every 30 days, so if you don’t receive verification on the first try, spend the month working on building your public image and acquiring news stories or other sources of notability. Then, reapply using the same steps outlined above.
Best of luck getting that blue checkmark—we believe in you!
