Spotify is going to reserve concert tickets for ‘real fans’

4 hours ago 1

Jay Peters

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

As part of a new “Reserved” program, Spotify is going to start offering concert tickets for “real fans” of participating bands that are going on tour. The idea with the Reserved program is to give people an option to buy tickets without the hassle and stress that often comes with securing a spot for a popular act. But you’ll have to be a Spotify Premium member to be eligible, and how exactly Spotify determines who is a real fan is a touch murky.

We’ll identify real fans based on factors like streams, shares, and other Spotify activity, and will also monitor the activity of Premium users to ensure these are real human fans and not bots. If you’re one of an artist’s most dedicated fans, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase two tickets during a dedicated window, typically around a day.

If you’re picked to get tickets, you’ll get an email and a notification in the app. Spotify also says to “make sure” your location is enabled in its Live Events Feed so it can determine if you’re near a touring artist. However, Spotify cautions that “there will be significantly more superfans than there are seats available on a tour, so not every fan will receive an offer.”

The Reserved program will kick off this summer, with Spotify saying that “newly announced tours for select artists will be able to dedicate tickets to true fans through Reserved.” Down the line, Reserved will expand to “more tours of all sizes, including many of the most sought-after shows on the road.” Spotify won’t add fees for tickets purchased via Reserved.

Initially, the Reserved program will be available in the US, but Spotify says it will come to more markets in the future.

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