Spotify, the world’s leading music streaming platform, has announced its latest move into the world of Web3 with the testing of token-enabled playlists in several key markets.
This new feature is available to NFT holders in select communities, including Overlord, Fluf, Moonbirds, and Kingship, and enables them to access curated playlists via their Web3 wallets.
Currently, the pilot program is only available to Android users in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. During the three-month testing period, the playlists will be regularly updated by community members and will only be accessible through a unique link.
Overlord, a Web3 gaming ecosystem, has partnered with Spotify to enable Creepz NFT holders to connect their wallets and access the community-curated “Invasion” playlist.
Meanwhile, Kingship, a Universal Music Group’s NFT band, has created a token-gated playlist featuring hit songs from Queen, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, and Led Zeppelin that can only be accessed by Kingship Key Card NFT holders.
The announcement of the pilot program has caused a surge in Web3 music tokens, including VIB, which rose by 33%, and AUDIO and RHYTHM, which increased by 4% and 2.5%, respectively.
Spotify has previously experimented with integrating NFTs into its service, allowing select artists to promote their NFTs on their profiles. However, this pilot program represents a significant step towards the platform’s further adoption of Web3 technology.
The music industry has increasingly turned to crypto and NFTs as a means of monetizing music and engaging fans. In late January, value-for-value podcasting platform Fountain announced its partnership with ZEBEDEE to enable Bitcoin micropayments for podcast listeners. Meanwhile, NFTs have been used to offer royalty rights for hit songs, such as Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money.”
To access the curated playlists, NFT holders can connect to their Metamask, Trust Wallet, Rainbow, Ledger Live, or Zerion wallets. This new feature aims to enhance the listening experience of Spotify users and provide NFT holders with a new way to engage with their communities and access exclusive content.
With the rise of Web3 technology and the increasing adoption of crypto and NFTs, the possibilities for the music industry are endless.
As the NFT market continues to grow, more music industry players are exploring ways to incorporate the technology into their platforms. Spotify’s latest move into Web3 technology represents a significant step in this direction and suggests that the future of music could be increasingly intertwined with the world of crypto.
Spotify has confirmed that it routinely conducts tests in an effort to improve user experience and has not confirmed whether the token-enabled playlists will be rolled out more broadly in the future. However, with the increasing adoption of crypto and NFTs within the music industry, it seems likely that this pilot program could represent the beginning of a new era of music streaming.
The move by Spotify to test token-enabled playlists for NFT holders is part of the company’s broader efforts to expand its reach in the Web3 space. It is an innovative way to engage users and leverage the growing popularity of NFTs, which are being used for a wide range of applications beyond art.
The move is also a significant milestone for the NFT industry as it shows that NFTs are not just limited to art but can be used in other industries as well.
Overall, the pilot program by Spotify is a positive development for the music industry as it demonstrates the potential for NFTs to revolutionize the way music is consumed and distributed.
It will be interesting to see how the pilot program progresses and whether Spotify plans to roll out the feature more broadly in the future.