Spotify’s reserved ticket sales for music fans are now live

Spotify’s move to cater to music lovers has now begun. The streaming giant on Thursday announced the launch of “Reserved by Spotify,” a new system that will identify an artist’s top eligible fans and then reserve two tickets for a tour before general ticket sales open for them.

The feature will be available for the first time starting today in the US to Premium subscribers (age 18+). Timed alongside their tour news, Roll Model will be the first artist partner to benefit from the ticket holding system, and fans will begin receiving notifications about their guaranteed tour tickets starting June 23, before the general sale. Spotify said it will not collect any transaction fees.

The feature is only available to artists playing at Live Nation venues at this time, and tickets are sold through Ticketmaster. The streamer said it aims to add more partners over time to include smaller venues as well as international users.

The reserved system is designed to reward music fans as scalpers acquire new concert tickets instantly using automated tools, which are then resold at a higher price as the event sells out.

For Spotify, Reserved is an easy way to encourage paid subscriptions and increase engagement with its app. If fans are getting concert tickets reserved for them by streaming their favorite clips, they will be more likely to log in and do so.

Spotify first announced its plan to cater to Super Fans in May, stating that it would use signals like streams, engagement, and other activity to determine who it considers to be a true fan. The company also said that the platform will monitor activity to ensure that fans are not manipulating these statistics using bots or artificial intelligence agents.

In other words, it won’t be possible to cut a ticket by playing an artist’s music over and over again — the company will be looking for signs that you’re still interacting with its app as a regular user would. Or as Spotify says: “Leaving music in the background won’t give anyone a chance.”

Reserved will also look at the user’s location to ensure they are near the offer before submitting the offer.

After the live stream, eligible fans will see a personalized show on Spotify’s home screen, allowing them to view tour dates, see the reserved window, and set a reminder to purchase tickets. When the reserved ticket window opens – usually within about a day – they can purchase two tickets before they go on sale to the public.

Additionally, Spotify noted that there will be more Super Fans than available seats in many cases, meaning not every fan will get a ticket offer every time.

“Role Model,” whose tour hits 17 cities and U.S. shows, will be the first in a “list” of additional artist tours launching this week, Spotify noted without naming names. Reserved tickets join other live music-centric tickets, such as recently added support for a beta feature that allows artists to upload live performance videos alongside other music videos.