Artist Name Checker

• Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok directly. Their sites do not answer a browser on another domain, so you open the search and read the result yourself.
• Apple Music outside the US store. An artist who released in one country only can be missing from the answer.
• Domain endings other than the nine listed, and trademarks.
• The future. Not found is not a reservation. Nothing stops somebody from taking the name tomorrow, so claim the handles you want the same day.

Spotify and Apple Music allow several artists with the same name, each on a separate profile. The problem is the upload. Your distributor asks for the Spotify artist URI and the Apple Music artist ID of your profile. Leave them empty under a name that already exists and the store can file your release under the other artist. The fix goes through the distributor or through Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists and takes days to weeks, while the release week is running.

A dormant profile with one track from years ago causes the same mix-up as an active one. An active artist with the same name also shares your search results for good: The Weeknd dropped the e because a band called The Weekend already had the name, and Lady Antebellum shortened to Lady A in 2020 and ran into a blues singer who had used it for twenty years.

1. Spotify and Apple Music. Under a name that already belongs to another artist your release can land on the other artist's page, see below. Check both.
2. SoundCloud, Audiomack, Bandcamp, Deezer, YouTube Music. Smaller catalogs, but an active artist there will fight you for the name later.
3. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Threads. One handle everywhere is the goal. The page uses the same handle for all of them: lowercase, no spaces, no symbols.
4. Domains. The page asks nine registries at once: .com, .net, .org, .me, .music, .band, .fm, .live and .studio. A free domain is cheap today and expensive once you are known. .music is sold to verified music people only.
5. Rap Fame. Claim the username in the app while it is free.
6. A trademark register if you plan to sell merch under the name. The page does not check trademarks.

The page builds one handle for every social network: lowercase, letters and digits only. Each platform allows a little more. The limits below come from the platforms' own help pages, linked in the first column, and decide how a two-word name can be spelled.

A name that fits X fits everywhere else. If papercobra is taken, try paper_cobra on all five before you settle for a different spelling on each.

A registered trademark beats a free handle. In the US, artist and band names are registered with the USPTO, usually in class 41 for entertainment services, with class 9 for recordings and class 25 for merch. Search the USPTO trademark search for the US and the WIPO Global Brand Database for other countries. A live mark in your genre and country is a reason to talk to a lawyer before you print merch. This page does not check trademarks, and this paragraph is not legal advice.

• Add a word. Paper Cobra is taken, Paper Cobra 99 or Lil Paper Cobra may be free. Short additions keep the name you love.
• Respell it. Papr Cobra, Paper Kobra, PaperCobra. Check the respelled handle too.
• Drop the crowded words. Lil, Young, Big and DJ share the search results with thousands of artists.
• Start over. The rap name generator and the artist name generator give you a new batch in one click, with a magnifier that brings each name back here.

How do I check if my artist name is available?

Type the name and press Check. The page looks it up on Apple Music, Rap Fame, Wikipedia and nine domain endings and shows Taken, Similar names or Not found for each. The other rows build the search page or the profile address for the same handle: open them to see handle availability on Spotify, SoundCloud, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Is the artist name checker free?

Yes. No account, no limits. The lookups run in your browser, the page has no server behind it.

Does it check Spotify?

Spotify does not let a website read its search from your browser, so the page builds the Spotify search link for the name and you open it. Same for SoundCloud, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Apple Music, Rap Fame, Wikipedia and the .com domain are checked right on the page.

What does "Not found" mean?

The platform returned no artist with this name. It is a strong sign the name is free, not a guarantee: Apple Music is checked in the US store, and a brand-new artist can appear any day. Open the other links before you commit.

What does "Similar names" mean?

An artist exists whose name contains yours, like Cobra Paper for Paper Cobra. Distributors usually accept that, but fans who search for you will see the other artist too. A unique name is easier to find.

Why is a famous name a problem?

If a city, a film or a well-known brand has the same name, search results and streaming search will show it above you for years. The Wikipedia row warns you about that.

Does the page store the names I type?

No. Nothing is sent until you press Check, and then the name goes only to the services in the first group. The page keeps no history.

Is this a rap name checker too?

Yes. A rap name, a stage name and an artist name are checked the same way, so this is a rap name checker too: rap name availability on Apple Music, Rap Fame, the domains and every linked platform. If the name is taken, the rap name generator and the artist name generator give you new options in one click.