NFT comes to Spotify – The Cryptonomist
The popular music streaming platform Spotify is testing a new service called “token-enabled playlists”, which allows holders of non-fungible tokens, i.e. NFTsto connect to your wallet and listen to curated music.
The pilot project is currently only available to Android users in USA, UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
Spotify and the integration of NFTs: all the details
As expected, Spotify is testing a new service called “token-enabled playlists” allowing NFT holders to connect to their wallet and listen to music.
Currently, the service is available to token holders within Fluff, Moonbirds, Kingship and Overlord society. Curated playlists will be actively updated during the three-month trial period and will only be available to community members via a unique link.
Web3 games and media universe Overlord tweeted Wednesday that owners of the lizard theme Creepz NFT project can connect their Web3 wallet on Spotify to access the project’s community-curated “Invasion” playlist. As it reads:
Overlord x @Spotify 🎶
We have been selected as one of Spotify’s partners in a new pilot.
🦎 Exclusive pilot of their token-enabled playlists
🎧 Launch with a holder-curated playlistDetails below ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/MDTjPRCXS5
— Overlord (@Overlord_xyz) 22 February 2023
Overlord tweeted that the pilot is currently only available to Android users in the US, UK, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Spotify appeared to confirm the details in its response to the tweet.
Universal Music Group’s NFT band, KINGSHIPalso shared that they have created a token-gated playlist for NFT owners with Queen, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg and Led Zeppelin.
We, KINGSHIP strive to ALWAYS be at the forefront of technology and music.
Now we’re taking this commitment a step further by launching a brand new token-enabled playlist with @Spotify!
This is a special curated playlist exclusively for KINGSHIP Key Card (NFT) holders. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/5ftjk8OgC6
— KINGSHIP (@therealkingship) 22 February 2023
Playlist functionality and access
The lead developer of the NFT liquidity protocol, NFTX, Apoorv Latheytweeted a screenshot of the pilot, which shows step-by-step how to access KINGSHIP’s curated playlist on Spotify.
According to the screenshot, NFT holders can connect their MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Rainbow, Ledger Live or Zerion wallets. A spokesperson for Spotify said that they regularly conduct a series of tests in an effort to improve the user experience.
In addition, the spokesperson stated:
“Some of these end up paving the way for our broader user experience, and others just serve as important learning.”
Spotify did not provide further details on plans to implement the feature more widely in the future. The global streaming platform, which has more than 489 million usershas already experimented with integrating NFTs into the service.
In May 2022, Spotify allowed a select group of artists, including Steve Aoki and The Wombats, to promote NFTs on their profiles. Meanwhile, a number of Web3 music platforms have emerged to decentralize the music listening experience.
Audiofor example, is an encrypted streaming service that allows users to earn rewards in AUDIO tokens for interacting with their app, while Royal and another block allow creators to sell music royalties as fractional NFTs.
Spotify allows artists to promote NFT on their profiles
Artists, as we know, can already promote merchandise and tickets on their Spotify profiles. Since May, the streaming service has been testing a feature that will also allow them to promote their NFTs.
Steve Aoki and The Wombats appear to be two of the artists taking part in the test, both of whom are among the early adopters of NFTs. The test is currently underway for “select” users of Spotify’s Android app in the US, who will be able to preview NFTs on artists’ profile pages.
They will then be able to log in to view and buy them from external markets. A spokesperson for Spotify told the following Music Ally:
“Spotify is running a test where it will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles. We regularly run a number of tests in an effort to improve the experience for artists and fans. Some of these tests end up with paving the way for a greater experience, and others only serve as important learning.”
Spotify will not take any cuts in NFT sales as part of the test. As such, Spotify is not selling NFTs, it is just testing a way to allow artists who sell NFTs to promote them on their service.
The data will help them decide whether to implement it as a full feature for all artists, but it will also clearly tell if Spotify decides to do something more ambitious with NFTs in the future.
