Why Spotify Might Be The Place To Buy Live Concert Tickets In The Future
Shortly after venturing into the virtual concert business, Spotify is now exploring the idea of hosting live events. Back in May of this year, Spotify began selling tickets to virtual concerts at $15 a pop, but these were actually pre-recorded streams that users could enjoy only once. Of course, the price was steep, but Spotify is trying to branch off its revenue stream while keeping fans engaged to its streaming platform with the promise of diverse content, roping in more artists, and adding new social features.
As the competition from Apple and Amazon has intensified, Spotify has lately gone on a spending spree that involves acquisitions, partnerships, as well as the development of new products. A few weeks ago, Spotify launched Greenroom to cash in on the trend of live audio chatrooms popularized by Clubhouse. The company also debuted its own podcast subscription platform with a lucrative revenue sharing scheme for creators, to help gain an edge in its rivalry with Apple.
Spotify is now looking to further broaden the horizons of its music business with live events, as per a report from The Information. While the Swedish streaming giant would be a new entrant to the domain that is dominated by the likes of Live Nation and AEG Live, it does have huge brand recognition on its side, as well as ties with creators and labels across the globe. Spotify’s relations with artists have not been on the best terms over the years due to payment issues, but live events might just prove to be an extra incentive that might cool things down and also bring more revenue into its coffers.
Live events are not an easy thing to execute, but Spotify has a treasure trove of valuable data at its disposal that it can exploit to impressive results. There’s also a bigger picture behind the live concert plans - one for Spotify itself, and the other one for its audience. Spotify is sitting on a pile of data that shows an accurate picture of listener habits, what regions an artist’s music is more popular in, and so on. Using this data, Spotify could go ahead with events with a higher chance of success. Plus, giving artists another opportunity to earn more money will not only help Spotify improve the strained relationships it has with them over revenue sharing, but could also encourage them into staying with ‘Team Green’ instead of embracing Apple and its rival streaming service. Not to mention, Spotify will probably make bank selling tickets, but that’s only one side of the story.
Spotify’s move into the world of live concerts will help it stand out from Apple Music and this is where its past acquisitions and new products will complete the customer-facing half of the story. Spotify appears to be aiming to become a one-stop shop for all music needs. Spotify has a rich catalog of music. It hosts podcasts too, and is testing the waters with videos podcasts as well. A Hi-Fi tier for audiophiles is already on the way and, with the recent acquisition of Podz, the platform will soon add some interesting sharing features as well. In addition, its Facebook partnership will help to provide a massive boost to the discovery aspect, bringing new listeners to the platform. With virtual concerts checked off the list, live concerts is possibly the next natural stop. If executed well, Spotify will make it hard for its audience to look elsewhere, especially if that elsewhere happens to fall in the territory of Apple and Amazon.
Source: The Information