Spotify is now serving to NFT-based communities to unlock unique content material by way of token-gated playlists, in line with a collection of tweets by Kingship, a metaverse band beneath Common Music Group.
The pilot venture is restricted to sure areas and is at present out there solely to Android customers within the US, the UK, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. iPhone customers can’t entry the function, as a result of Apple restricted the functionalities of NFTs final yr.
Underneath the pilot, Kingship has launched a particular playlist that may solely be accessed by Kingship key card NFT holders.
The playlists are unlocked by way of NFTs, and the method includes linking your crypto pockets, similar to Metamask, Belief Pockets, Rainbow, Ledger Stay, or Zerion, to authenticate the NFT that unlocks the playlist.
Different communities similar to Overlord, Fluf, and Kevin Rose’s Moonbirds have additionally launched playlists that may be unlocked by their respective token holders.
Spotify Confirms Venture
Spotify has confirmed the pilot and commented on Kingship and Overlord’s tweets with out divulging any additional particulars. The corporate mentioned in a press release that they routinely conduct checks to boost the consumer expertise.
The assertion reads: “At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience. Some of those end up paving the path for our broader user experience, and others serve only as important learnings. We have no further news to share on future plans at this time.”
This pilot signifies that Spotify might quickly provide extra content material, together with songs, albums, or podcasts that may very well be token gated.
Final yr, the corporate revealed web3-related job listings within the engineering and advertising departments, suggesting that it has been exploring the usage of blockchain know-how.
The announcement of the NFT-gated playlists pilot comes simply earlier than Spotify’s Stream On occasion on March 8. The occasion might present extra info on Spotify’s plans to include NFTs into its platform.
What’s extra, the pilot comes after Spotify experimented with a profile function in Might 2022, permitting artists to advertise their digital artwork.
Conclusion
This pilot program demonstrates that Spotify might have the required know-how in place to supply a higher vary of content material, similar to songs, albums, or podcasts that might require token authentication.
In a down market the place sentiment is low because of the crypto winter and all of the related scams similar to FTX and Voyager have knocked confidence, it’s nice to see manufacturers like Spotify testing out NFTs.
And though, it’s not clear precisely what it entails, it’s hoped that the corporate will elaborate on this additional throughout its upcoming occasion. That mentioned, it’s nonetheless tremendous bullish that Spotify is piloting NFTs.
