- Spotify is launching a new system that gives an artist’s top fans a first chance at scoring concert tickets more easily
- If you’re an eligible fan, Spotify will reserve two tickets for you
- The platform wants to ensure fans get tickets first over scalpers and scammers
Live music tickets are becoming increasingly difficult to score, but Spotify is doing something about it, and the platform is about to launch its own ticketing priority system for top fans.
During its Investor Day 2026 briefing Spotify unveiled Reserved, a new system that’ll grant top fans first priority for purchasing tickets to their favorite artists with no additional fees. It’s launching in the US to eligible Spotify Premium subscribers over age 18 in the US starting in the next few months, with other countries set to follow.
To start, recently-announced tours for select artists will have the opportunity to reserve tickets for fans. Spotify plans to expand this to tours of any size in the future.
In a world where ticket scalpers are rife and the Ticketmaster sales are becoming more like battlefields, Spotify’s Reserved experience aims to make the ticket-purchasing experience a smoother one — ensuring that long-time fans who give to their favorite artists get a fair chance of seeing them in person. Essentially, Spotify wants to reward your fandom.
Spotify will determine if you’re a top fan by looking across your overall Spotify activity, which includes your streams and shares, as well as monitoring the activity of Premium users. This will help Spotify determine if you’re a “real human fan”, and not a bot.
If Spotify decides that you’ve streamed an artist enough to be a top fan and they’re playing a show in your area, the platform will reserve two tickets for you which you’ll then have the chance to buy within a dedicated window (Spotify says this will be around a day). Having said that, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Jump to the front of the line
When Spotify declares that you’re a dedicated fan, you’ll receive an email and an in-app notification informing you of your eligibility to buy tickets. Spotify recommends turning on notifications for live events, enabling your location settings, and ensuring your app is updated if you don’t want to miss out.
After receiving your notification, you’ll have the chance to purchase two tickets in the dedicated timeframe before the sale opens to the general public. Although this quantity doesn’t cover large groups who may want to attend a gig together, if your friends are also big streamers of the same artists, there’s a chance they’ll also be eligible fans with Reserved access — meaning no one in your group will have to miss out.
If you decide to go ahead with your purchase, you’ll be taken to a ticketing partner’s website to complete the sale — but then there’s the matter of availability.
Spotify says that not every fan is guaranteed an offer for tickets as the number of fans aiming for tickets exceeds the total capacity of venues. Additionally, Spotify says that ticket offers with Reserved will be based on the tour’s location, meaning that if a tour isn’t coming to your area there’s a chance you may not receive priority access.
However, if you do receive an offer in spite of this, you’ll be able to buy a ticket to any show on the tour where you can select the date, location, and seat selection when you check out. Spotify also adds that ticket type availability will vary per show.
Fan engagement matters
As a serial concert attendee, I’ve noticed first-hand the shift in ticket purchasing over the past couple of years, and though the pandemic contributed to the sky-rocketing demand for live music tours, scalpers and Ticketmaster’s controversial dynamic pricing method have also made ticket purchasing an anxiety-riddled process.
Though Spotify does have its off days, it’s the first company out of all the best music streaming services to start taking a stance against scalpers who resell tickets for ridiculous prices to spite genuine fans.
Recently Ticketmaster came under fire when its president claimed that queue positions aren’t randomized, leaving fans questioning the real reason that determines these placements.
“We’re building this to give back to fans who support artists the most — and because when fans and artists win, Spotify does, too,” the streamer shared in its announcement.
But for the platform, it’s all about engagement: “When listeners who show up for an artist on Spotify are the ones getting into their shows, fans stick around, artists grow, and live music gets stronger. This is part of a broader investment Spotify is making in live music across artists at every stage of their careers,” the company concluded.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
