TL;DRSpotify has approached concert promoters about licensing live festival video and struck a multi-year deal with Live Nation to pre-save tickets for its most engaged Premium subscribers. The moves come as Spotify pushes deeper into video to offset a 5% ad revenue decline.
Spotify has approached concert promoters about licensing the rights to stream live video from music festivals, according to Bloomberg, as the Swedish streaming company pushes to become a broader hub for the live music economy. The company has already started adding footage from live events, including a Dua Lipa show in Mexico City.
The live video talks are running alongside a separate, more concrete initiative. Spotify struck a multi-year deal with Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter and ticket seller, to launch a feature called Reserved. Starting this summer with select US tours, Spotify will identify an artist’s most dedicated listeners and hold up to two tickets per fan ahead of general sale.
Eligibility is determined by streaming data, including listening frequency, how long someone has followed an artist, and whether the behaviour appears organic rather than bot-driven. Eligible users receive an email and an in-app notification with a roughly 24-hour purchase window. Bloomberg reported that Spotify is paying tens of millions of dollars for the ticketing rights, outflanking Apple and Amazon to secure the Live Nation exclusivity.
