Spotify’s new listening parties put fans in front of artists
Spotify are connecting artists with fans directly through their new listening parties, celebrating new releases together.
Billie Eilish is about to drop her third studio album, ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’. To celebrate Spotify are hosting an exclusive listening party which will give fans a way to enjoy the album launch with Eilish herself.
The Listening Party is a new feature from Spotify. It offers a live experience in which fans can join an audio-only party with artists. They will listen to their music, can ask questions to the artist, and engage with them on stream. It all happens within the Spotify app and gives fans and artists a new way to connect with each other.
Spotify have been testing the feature and now its ready to go live with Billie Eilish. Spotify will send her top fans a link to browse merch and a countdown the the Listening Party. Fans will need to pre-save the album before its release this Friday to be able to join the event.
As Spotify launches this feature further with Billie Eilish’s new album, she will join a list of artists who have used the feature so far, including: Bleachers, Lizzy McAlpine, MGMT, and Zara Larsson.
Artists who host a Listening Party will speak directly to their tuned-in fans via audio stream. Fans can speak directly to the artist by requesting to go on stage. A chat will allow fans to interact with each other and discuss the stream and artist during the event. Artists can play any of their music that is available on Spotify to stream it as part of the event.
Spotify are also using the feature to encourage further merchandise sales for artists. Listening Parties will feature easy options for fans to explore and purchase artist merch through the Spotify app, within the Listening Party.