Spotify to integrate NFTs for playlists
Spotify has been tinkering with NFTs and will now bring NFT-gated music playlists.
By Staff
Spotify, a music streaming service, has been experimenting with NFTs and will soon introduce NFT-gated music playlists to its platform. Users of the music platform will be able to access a specific playlist using the service’s defined NFTs.
Joining the pilot are a handful of NFT projects, including Overlord and Kingship, letting holders from each project test out a unique crypto integration with the streaming platform.
The feature lets members of those particular communities connect a crypto wallet holding one of the Ethereum NFTs and access an exclusive Spotify playlist.
For now, the new token-gated service is only available on Android and in the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, and New Zealand.
Overlord Co-founder, Joe Carnell noted that the user simply clicks on the playlist, and it takes them out to your preferred wallets, whether it’s MetaMask or Ledger; it depends on how they store your assets. It will ask you to sign, and then it will grant them access to the playlist.
For Overlord, holders of its genesis Creepz NFTs will enjoy exclusive access to the playlist. The playlist includes songs like Vitamin C by CAN, Shimmy Shimmy Ya by Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Rocket Man by Elton John, and more than 100 other tracks.
Carnell said, “The playlist is built around our internal narrative of invasion, mega-mutant lizard by Overlord, who’s known to be invading different planets.”
He added, “It’s not only about the music either.”
Carnell also noted that Spotify has notoriously been known for championing great UX principles in the way they develop the methodology and product principles.
“We really were excited about aligning ourselves to a brand that thinks about UX first,” he said.
The music streaming platform may already be benefitting from the play, too. The Overlord co-founder said that he has already seen members of his community download Spotify for the first time, or upgrade to a premium subscription to enjoy an uninterrupted version of the invasion playlist without ads.
“The ability for us to change user behavior and drive the kind of KPIs that Spotify wants because we can set it in a context that users love, is really powerful,” said Carnell.
This user behavior could be further adjusted with this token gate as it allows for additional perks, said co-founder Dominic Smith, pointing to potential benefits like album releases or behind-the-scenes exclusive interviews with certain musicians.
Spotify began testing Web3 integrations last year, with a company representative confirming to the publication Music Ally in May that some musicians were testing a feature to promote NFTs on their artist profiles. The company had previously posted job listings referencing Web3 earlier in 2022.
