Spotify ‘Reserved’ helps superfans gain access to concert tickets
Spotify is leaning further into live events with Reserved, a new feature designed to help real superfans secure up to two concert tickets with none of the stress.
What is Spotify Reserved?
Trying to buy concert tickets today can feel like a never-ending battle. More often than not, you’ll find yourself waiting in queues for hours, only to be left with nothing to show for it. Now, Spotify is looking to change that with a brand-new feature called Reserved.
Reserved is a new ticket access feature available to eligible Spotify Premium subscribers aged 18 and over. Instead of fighting through crowded presales or waiting in online queues, it’s designed to reward an artist’s biggest supporters by giving eligible fans access to purchase up to two reserved tickets before the general sale begins.
Importantly, Spotify says there are no extra fees attached to the feature itself. Fans simply get access to a dedicated purchase window where tickets are already being held for them at no extra cost, without the hassle of fighting against thousands of other fans.
Spotify says Reserved will initially launch in the US this summer, with plans to reach further markets later on.
How does Spotify decide who gets ticket access?
Spotify has long been able to measure and understand listener behaviour. Just look at the type of listening stats that are revealed as part of Spotify Wrapped each year. With Reserved, Spotify is using those same metrics to identify an artist’s most dedicated listeners.
The platform says it will look at signals such as streams, shares, saves, and other Spotify activity to determine who qualifies as a genuine fan. At the same time, Spotify made clear to Music Ally that it wants to intentionally keep parts of the qualification process vague to stop bots, bad actors, or ticket scalpers from gaming the system.
On top of this, Spotify will look out to ensure any engagement is authentic and human, helping to further reduce the ability for the system to be gamed.
In short, Spotify wants Reserved tickets going to actual, genuine fans.
How Reserved works for fans
If you qualify for Reserved access, the process itself is fairly straightforward.
Fans selected for Reserved will receive both an email and an in-app notification letting them know they’ve been chosen. So, Spotify is encouraging users to keep concert notifications enabled so they don’t miss an opportunity.
From there, fans will have around a day to purchase up to two tickets through an official ticketing partner.
Spotify has been keen to stress there will be a variety of ticketing options available too. Speaking to Music Ally, Spotify’s SVP and Global Head of Music, Charlie Hellman, said fans should expect access to quality tickets across a range of price points:
“Two tickets will be set aside so that, any time during that day when it’s your window, you can go in – in a stress-free way – and they will be there and you can buy them… And these will be quality tickets: they’re not obstructed-view, and they don’t have to be $1,000 VIP tickets. It’ll be a range of price points that people can choose from.”
Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s SVP and Global Head of Music
A few things to note
There are still a few important things for fans to keep in mind though. Spotify has acknowledged that there will likely be more superfans than available seats, meaning not every dedicated listener will receive an offer.
Location also plays a role in eligibility, so make sure your preferred location is enabled in the Live Events feed and your notifications are switched on. Unfortunately, that also means if an artist isn’t touring near you, you may not receive an offer even if you’re one of their biggest listeners.
Availability will also vary depending on the artist, and the tour itself.
The bigger picture
Spotify’s Reserved launch shows just how important live events have become within the streaming economy. Music streaming is far more than just music discovery, and now includes live event discovery too.
Reserved builds on Spotify’s existing strategy around live events and concert discovery through features like the ‘Live Events’ feed, ‘Fans First’ emails, and the ‘Concerts Near You’ playlist. And according to Spotify, those concert discovery integrations have already helped drive more than $1.5 billion in ticket sales for artists.
Now, Reserved is turning fan engagement and concert discovery into something tangible. Instead of simply recommending shows and providing links for fans to purchase tickets, Spotify is actively helping artists connect with their most dedicated listeners.
As Spotify continues building new ways for artists and fans to connect, Reserved may be another glimpse at where streaming platforms are heading next.
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