Reserved by Spotify is Going on Tour. Here’s How It Works
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Reserved by Spotify, launched in partnership with Live Nation and powered by Ticketmaster, gives artists a new way to recognize some of their most dedicated fans.
- Eligible fans can purchase up to two tickets during a dedicated presale window.
Role Model is the first of many artists who will participate in the program.
Every artist has those fans. The ones who follow every release, know every lyric of every song and are texting friends the second tour dates drop.
Reserved by Spotify was built with those fans in mind.
Launched in partnership with Live Nation and powered by Ticketmaster, the program gives artists a new way to connect with some of the fans who support them most on Spotify, and the first artist tours are now underway. Starting this week, eligible Spotify Premium subscribers (18+) in the U.S. will begin seeing Reserved offers for select shows.
Here’s how it works.
Who gets an offer
With Reserved, Spotify identifies an artist’s most dedicated fans and holds two tour tickets for them to purchase during a dedicated presale window. Eligibility is based on a wide range of signals like streams, saves, and shares, as well as location, to make sure offers reach fans who are likely to attend.
Spotify determines eligibility, and they don’t share every detail of how it works to avoid encouraging anyone to engage strategically rather than genuinely, but Reserved is designed to reward active fan engagement on Spotify.
Step 1: You get the heads-up
When you’re eligible, your Reserved offer will be waiting for you right on your Spotify Home screen. Spotify will notify you by email, push notification, and in “Your Updates.” To make sure you don’t miss it, keep your Spotify notifications turned on for live concerts and events, keep your Spotify app updated, and make sure location is enabled in your Spotify Live Events Feed.
You can also find your offer across various places in the Spotify app, including:
- Search
- The artist’s page
- Your Live Events Feed
- The Now Playing view
Tap the offer from Spotify to see available tour dates, the time when your Reserved window will open, and to set a reminder so you don’t miss it.
Step 2: Your Reserved window opens. Claim your tickets
When your Reserved window opens, tap “Buy now” in the email or push notification sent to you by Spotify to choose up to two tickets for any eligible date on the tour.
Your window is typically around a day, and two tickets are held for you throughout, so no need to drop everything the moment it opens. That said, to get the specific date, location, and seats you prefer, Spotify recommends purchasing as soon as you know which show you want.
Spotify designed Reserved to give you options, so you can buy tickets for any eligible date on the tour, not just the show closest to you. Reserved allocations include a range of seating and prices, and specific availability varies by show.
Step 3: Complete Your Purchase
When you’re ready to purchase, you’ll be directed to complete checkout on Ticketmaster. If prompted, connect your Spotify account to Ticketmaster (this is how Spotify verifies your Reserved access and unlocks your tickets). Choose up to two seats, add your payment info, and confirm.
For some high-demand shows, you may enter a queue at first. No matter what, two tickets on the tour will be held for you throughout your entire on-sale window. Each show has its own availability, so if you reach the end of a queue and your preferred seats are sold out, you’ll still have the opportunity to purchase other tickets.
Pro tip: Connect your Spotify account to Ticketmaster ahead of time for faster checkout.
After the window closes
Unclaimed Reserved tickets become available to the next most dedicated eligible fans, as determined by Spotify. Spotify will notify them the same way, and tickets are available while supplies last.
A few things to keep in mind
Reserved is available for select artists and tours for Spotify Premium subscribers who are 18 or older. Window lengths, ticket availability, and eligible dates vary by campaign.
Questions? Check out Spotify’s Q&A here.