Spotify is aware that even as vaccinations roll out and venues begin to re-open, not everyone will be able to attend an in-person concert yet. Virtual events give fans the ability to see the artists they love from the comforts of home. Of course, platforms like Mandolin, Single Music, Veeps and others have been offering livestreams over the course of the pandemic. Spotify is a bit late to the game, but even as life returns to “normal,” there will be times we’d rather stay at home or an artist we like isn’t coming nearby.
The virtual concert series is being produced in collaboration with Driift, another livestream platform for ticketed online events. Spotify says it will “be better integrating concerts into the overall listening experience” by making it easy to find upcoming performances and track the artists they follow. It will also serve up notifications based on your listening habits (prompts for the first show will being popping up today). The company didn’t say if any future events would be actual live performances, only that the series was “kicking off” with five prerecorded virtual concerts. If you don’t have a subscription to the service, you can still purchase a ticket to the shows, but you’ll need to sign up for a free account to do so.
The “live” music begins May 27th with The Black Keys at Blue Front Café in Mississippi. Each Thursday, another act will follow. Those artists include Rag’n’Bone Man (June 3rd), Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff (June 10th), Leon Bridges (June 17th) and girl in red (June 24th). Tickets for each show will be available here.
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