- Spotify is launching a new system that gives an artist’s best fans a first chance to score concert tickets more easily
- If you’re an eligible fan, Spotify will reserve two tickets for you
- The platform wants to ensure that 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 ticket priority system for top fans.
During its Investor Day 2026 briefing, Spotify unveiled Reserved, a new system that will give top fans first priority to buy tickets for their favorite artists without extra fees. It’s launching in the US for eligible Spotify Premium subscribers over the age of 18 in the US, starting in the next few months, with other countries to follow.
To start with, newly announced tours for select artists will have the option 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 Ticketmaster sales are becoming more like battlegrounds, Spotify’s Reserved experience aims to make the ticket-buying experience smoother – and ensure that fans who have long given to their favorite artists get a fair chance to see 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 are a “real human fan” and not a bot.
If Spotify decides you’ve streamed an artist enough to be a top fan, and they play a show in your area, the platform will reserve two tickets for you, which you’ll then have the opportunity to purchase within a dedicated window (Spotify says this will be around a day). That said, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Jump to the front of the line
When Spotify declares you a dedicated fan, you’ll receive an email and an in-app notification informing you of your eligibility to purchase tickets. Spotify recommends turning on notifications for live events, enabling your location settings, and making sure your app is up to date so you don’t want to miss anything.
After receiving your notification, you have the chance to purchase two tickets within the dedicated time frame before the sale opens to the public. While this amount doesn’t cover large groups who might want to attend a concert 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 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 all fans are guaranteed an offer on tickets, as the number of fans aiming for tickets exceeds the venues’ total capacity. 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 won’t get priority access.
However, if you do receive an offer despite this, you will be able to purchase a ticket for any show on the tour, choosing the date, venue and seat selection when you check out. Spotify also adds that the availability of ticket types will vary depending on the show.
Fan engagement matters
As a regular concert-goer, I’ve noticed first-hand the shift in ticketing over the past few years, and while the pandemic has contributed to skyrocketing demand for live music tours, scalpers and Ticketmaster’s controversial dynamic pricing approach have also made ticketing an anxiety-ridden process.
Although Spotify has its off days, it is the first company among all the top music streaming services to start taking a stand against scalpers who resell tickets at ridiculous prices despite genuine fans.
Recently, Ticketmaster came under fire when its president claimed that queue positions are not random, leaving fans questioning the real reason that determines these positions.
“We’re building this to give back to fans who support artists the most — and because when fans and artists win, so does Spotify,” the streamer shared in its announcement.
But for the platform, it’s about engagement: “When listeners show up for an artist on Spotify, they’re the ones who get 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 all stages of their career,” the company concluded.
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