diff --git a/lib/artists/__tests__/createArtistPostHandler.test.ts b/lib/artists/__tests__/createArtistPostHandler.test.ts
index c764c5da..78ee84a4 100644
--- a/lib/artists/__tests__/createArtistPostHandler.test.ts
+++ b/lib/artists/__tests__/createArtistPostHandler.test.ts
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ describe("createArtistPostHandler", () => {
     expect(response.status).toBe(400);
   });
 
-  it("returns 400 for invalid JSON body", async () => {
+  it("returns 400 for invalid JSON body (treated as empty)", async () => {
     const request = new NextRequest("http://localhost/api/artists", {
       method: "POST",
       headers: {
@@ -181,8 +181,9 @@ describe("createArtistPostHandler", () => {
     const response = await createArtistPostHandler(request);
     const data = await response.json();
 
+    // safeParseJson returns {} for invalid JSON, so schema validation catches it
     expect(response.status).toBe(400);
-    expect(data.error).toBe("Invalid JSON body");
+    expect(data.error).toBe("name is required");
   });
 
   it("returns 500 when artist creation fails", async () => {
diff --git a/lib/artists/__tests__/validateCreateArtistBody.test.ts b/lib/artists/__tests__/validateCreateArtistBody.test.ts
index d5e00453..cc619b08 100644
--- a/lib/artists/__tests__/validateCreateArtistBody.test.ts
+++ b/lib/artists/__tests__/validateCreateArtistBody.test.ts
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ describe("validateCreateArtistBody", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("returns 400 for invalid JSON body", async () => {
+  it("returns schema error for invalid JSON body (treated as empty)", async () => {
     const request = new NextRequest("http://localhost/api/artists", {
       method: "POST",
       headers: {
@@ -144,11 +144,12 @@ describe("validateCreateArtistBody", () => {
 
     const result = await validateCreateArtistBody(request);
 
+    // safeParseJson returns {} for invalid JSON, so schema validation catches it
     expect(result).toBeInstanceOf(NextResponse);
     if (result instanceof NextResponse) {
       expect(result.status).toBe(400);
       const data = await result.json();
-      expect(data.error).toBe("Invalid JSON body");
+      expect(data.error).toBe("name is required");
     }
   });
 
diff --git a/lib/artists/validateCreateArtistBody.ts b/lib/artists/validateCreateArtistBody.ts
index edfab638..6b4e0b83 100644
--- a/lib/artists/validateCreateArtistBody.ts
+++ b/lib/artists/validateCreateArtistBody.ts
@@ -2,20 +2,13 @@ import { NextRequest, NextResponse } from "next/server";
 import { getCorsHeaders } from "@/lib/networking/getCorsHeaders";
 import { getApiKeyDetails } from "@/lib/keys/getApiKeyDetails";
 import { canAccessAccount } from "@/lib/organizations/canAccessAccount";
+import { safeParseJson } from "@/lib/networking/safeParseJson";
 import { z } from "zod";
 
 export const createArtistBodySchema = z.object({
-  name: z
-    .string({ message: "name is required" })
-    .min(1, "name cannot be empty"),
-  account_id: z
-    .string()
-    .uuid("account_id must be a valid UUID")
-    .optional(),
-  organization_id: z
-    .string()
-    .uuid("organization_id must be a valid UUID")
-    .optional(),
+  name: z.string({ message: "name is required" }).min(1, "name cannot be empty"),
+  account_id: z.uuid({ message: "account_id must be a valid UUID" }).optional(),
+  organization_id: z.uuid({ message: "organization_id must be a valid UUID" }).optional(),
 });
 
 export type CreateArtistBody = z.infer<typeof createArtistBodySchema>;
@@ -52,16 +45,7 @@ export async function validateCreateArtistBody(
     );
   }
 
-  let body: unknown;
-  try {
-    body = await request.json();
-  } catch {
-    return NextResponse.json(
-      { status: "error", error: "Invalid JSON body" },
-      { status: 400, headers: getCorsHeaders() },
-    );
-  }
-
+  const body = await safeParseJson(request);
   const result = createArtistBodySchema.safeParse(body);
   if (!result.success) {
     const firstError = result.error.issues[0];