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Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets For Fans (hollywoodreporter.com) 41

Posted by BeauHD from the lending-a-hand dept.
Spotify is launching "Reserved," a new feature that will set aside concert tickets for Premium subscribers it identifies as an artist's most dedicated fans based on streams, shares, and other activity. "Getting concert tickets today can feel like a race you're set up to lose," Spotify wrote in a post on Thursday. "You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, the experience is stressful, unpredictable, and disconnected from what should matter most: whether real fans actually get tickets. We think there's a better way." From the Hollywood Reporter: Spotify said that starting in the U.S. this summer, select artists will be able to use Reserved to set aside tickets for fans on the platform. The platform has partnered with Live Nation on the program as part of a multiyear agreement. The platform will use streams, shares and other types of activity to "identify an artist's most dedicated fans and hold two tour tickets for them."

Fans selected through Reserved will get up to two tickets, and they'll have a day-long window to make a ticket purchase if selected. Spotify didn't give any details on what artists will work with the streaming service for the new feature, or how many tickets artists would set aside with Reserved, though the service acknowledged "there will be significantly more superfans than there are seats available on a tour, so not every fan will receive an offer."

Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets For Fans More | Reply

Spotify Will Start Reserving Concert Tickets For Fans

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  • Oh great, another presale (Score:3, Insightful)

    by rezachi ( 10503306 ) on Thursday May 21, 2026 @02:15PM (#66154400)
    Iâ(TM)ve done enough presales to realize that unless they find a way to keep the scalpers and bots out it will be largely useless.

  • fan (Score:3)

    by gary s ( 5206985 ) on Thursday May 21, 2026 @02:48PM (#66154450)
    ANd how much does it cost in fee's to be a fan?
  • As long as scalpers are essentially tolerated the behavior won't stop. If they started seriously cracking down the risk vs reward wouldn't be worth it. Long jail sentences. Asset forfeiture. And pay it back to the people they ripped off. Not just line the government's coffers. They'll go after Napster users for downloading music, but concerts are usually an artists main source of income. If they could get the scalpers out of it I'll bet the ticket sales would be a lot higher.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AuMatar ( 183847 )

      Scalping isn't, and shouldn't be, illegal. You own the ticket, you should be able to do what you want with it, including reselling it.

      And no, getting rid of scalpers wouldn't make ticket prices higher. Scalpers exist because the concert ticket prices are lower than what the market will actually bear. If a theater full of people are willing to pay 1K for a concert and they sell the ticket for 500, a scalper can make a profit via arbitrage. The only actual way to get rid of scalpers is to raise the prices

    • LOL, jailtime for scalping? Ripping off willing to pay at last minute prices sort of people? Give me a fucking break.

      Scalpers are literally finding the true price of the ticket. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

      Or put your hate where it makes the most sense, Ticketmaster and Live Nation. They could end scalping tomorrow buy simply forcing whoever buys the tickets to show up at the venue with a photo ID. Don't allow ticket transfers or reselling. Period. Problem solved.

  • The most dedicated fans would want to own vinyl or CD.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Archfeld ( 6757 )

      Yes, and the fans could buy it at the venue where the Artist gets the lions share, or they could finance a BMG VP's next girlfriend and buy it from a retailer. Go to the show, buy some merch and you are TRULY supporting an artist or band. Everything else is just BS.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by SirSlud ( 67381 )

      Obviously they mean the fans "listening to the artist the most on Spotify" because that's obviously the behaviour they're incentivizing with this program.

      Although this just feels like it's creating up an incentive for scalpers to setup bots to listen to Spotify. If the scalper-bots are plausible deniably "legitimate traffic" in terms of being to charge those impressions back to advertisers, Spotify can probably live with that.

      I don't think anybody reading that release would think, "Oh, Spotify and LiveNatio

  • But it's also not a problem that needs such wacky solving. Last gig I bought tickets too had me register my name alongside the ticket at purchase time. I am not allowed to pass the tickets on. I may or may not be allowed to refund them. Not sure if there's a loophole for scalpers left.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      Last gig I bought tickets too had me register my name

      One ticket for me. One for my Uncle eBay. One for my cousin Craig Slist, ...

  • Live Nation so $100-$200 in fees?

  • In case you were wondering, Spotify's new icon is actually a disco ball but you have to zoom in on it to tell. Otherwise, it looks like a bug which if fitting given that the latest CarPlay release has a significant bug in it.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vux984 ( 928602 )

      They recently bragged about how much they were getting done with AI vibe-coding.

      Could it be related to the wave of bugs? Say it ain't so!

  • so now an algo gets to decide who gets offered tickets, and they are wielding fomo directly over those selected. you were the chosen one why didnt you buy these tickets?!?!!

  • "You show up at the right time, refresh endlessly, and still miss out. Too often, the experience is stressful, unpredictable, and disconnected from what should matter most: whether real fans actually get tickets. We think there's a better way."

    Or you know, if you are a REAL fan, you'll sign up for your favorite artists mailing list and get sent links for pre-sale events that typically take place a day or two before the general population can buy tickets.

    I've never not gotten tickets and because it's pre-sale, I save money. No stress, cheaper tickets.

    This Spotify thing seems gimmicky and and grasp at straws to add another feature to their platform. Screw Spotify. Just sign up for the mailing list and buy pre-sale. Problem Solved. Your welcome.

    • The problem is that the bots and scalpers somehow have infested these supposedly limited presales too. I've done three Backstreet Boys presale events for shows at the Sphere in Vegas, which are supposedly limited to BSB Army fan club members. I've gotten tickets every time with relative ease, but the fan club forums are filled with screenshots of people in queues that well exceed the number of fan club members by 10's of thousands, the sale for all show nights completing within minutes of starting, the site

  • This is actually a very smart partnership for them because it says to fans that if they want to score tickets, they better switch away from Google/Amazon/Apple and over to Spotify otherwise they are going to miss out.

  • While it lacks Spotify's play sync everywhere features, it focuses on music.
  • ... maybe they should buy the content instead of renting it from a shitty service like Spotify.
    • Relative to total revenue, I don't think much of the money makes it to the artist that way either. Shows and merch at the venue seem to be where it's at if you want the highest amount of your dollar to go to the artist.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by DrXym ( 126579 )
        I'm referring specifically to people who listen to certain artists so relentlessly the platform thinks they're super fans. Just buy the frigging albums. Not only do they support the artists with royalties but they own the content and save themselves renting it.

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