Spotify Integrates Virtual Event Listings in Partnership With Songkick & Ticketmaster
"With many tours postponed until 2021, the necessity for these virtual events is set to continue," Spotify said, "and we want to make it easy for Spotify listeners to learn about the virtual events…
Spotify has partnered with concert discovery app Songkick and Ticketmaster to add virtual event listings to the platform, both on artist profiles and in the Concerts hub, the streaming service announced today (Sept. 15).
Shows must be listed either on Songkick, which Warner Music Group acquired in 2017, or Ticketmaster to be included — there is no way to list the event directly through Spotify. But as long as the events are listed through these partners, the virtual event itself can be hosted on any platform, including Twitch, Instagram Live, YouTube Live or a hosted website.
“Over the past six months, in the wake of COVID-19, we’ve seen artists adapt and innovate in incredible ways,” the company writes in a new Spotify For Artists blog post. “In lieu of live shows, staging virtual performances across a variety of platforms has become a vital way to connect with your fans, and share who you are with new listeners. With many tours postponed until 2021, the necessity for these virtual events is set to continue, and we want to make it easy for Spotify listeners to learn about the virtual events for artists they love, and for artists they’re discovering for the very first time.”
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To help with promotion, artists can set their virtual event as their “Artist Pick,” meaning listeners will see it at the top of the artist’s profile. Spotify will also email personalized virtual event recommendations to listeners, both for artists they already listen to and artists they don’t, but might enjoy based on their listening habits.
In light of the pandemic, streaming services have been attaching themselves to the livestreaming business in a variety of ways. Earlier this month, Amazon Music announced that its artists can now livestream directly within its platform through the Amazon-owned Twitch. In August, Indian streaming service JioSaavn partnered with short-form video app Triller to regularly integrate its videos from top artists and songs on the JioSaavn platform; and London-based virtual reality concerts company MelodyVR’s $70 million acquisition of Napster included plans to create the “first-ever music entertainment platform which combines immersive visual content and music streaming.”
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