Spotify will reserve tickets for top fans of an artists in a bid to drum up engagement

If you are a top fan of an artist, Spotify will give you a chance to book a ticket to their next show. This is the audio platform’s new bid to keep its users engaged and stream more to become eligible to be a top fan.

Spotify didn’t give an exact criterion to be a “real fan,” but said it will use signals like streams, shares, and other activity. However, it mentioned that the platform will monitor activity to ensure that users don’t game these stats using bots or AI agents.

“There will be significantly more superfans than there are seats available on a tour, so not every fan will receive an offer. And by only inviting validated fans, we will help ensure more tickets will go straight to fans instead of scalpers,” Spotify said in a blog post.

Eligible fans will get an email and an in-app notification to buy two tickets. The company said that eligible fans aged 18 or above in the U.S. will get a chance to buy two tickets during a dedicated window of around a day. It also advised users to keep alerts for live events and location settings on. Spotify is just facilitating the sale of the ticket, and users will need to purchase the ticket on a partner’s website.

Spotify said that users who receive and offer can buy tickets for any show on the tour, and they can choose date, location, and seats, availability of which will vary.

Starting this summer, Spotify will reserve tickets for select artists for their newly announced tours. The company said that gradually, the program will expand to tours of different sizes.

The audio platform has added features for live event discovery in the last year, including following specific venues and finding out about nearby concerts through a specific playlist. Spotify experimented with direct ticket sales in 2022, but eventually leaned towards a partner model. The company said that it has facilitated ticket sales of over $1.5 billion in ticket sales for artists.