Spotify tries to explain how its 'Reserved by Spotify' early ticket access will work

Spotify is rolling out its Reserved concert priority scheme in the US

ROLE MODEL is the first partner artist, with more to follow

'Top fans' are determined based on overall engagement in Spotify, which poses questions about who the true fans really are

A few weeks ago Spotify unveiled Reserved, its new priority scheme that gives top fans first pick of tickets to see their favorite touring artists — and it’s finally going live in the US today (June 18).

Premium subscribers over the age of 18 will be eligible for Reserved access, which has come out of Spotify’s partnership with Live Nation, powered by Ticketmaster. To kick off the new scheme, singer ROLE MODEL will be the first official artist partner, who just announced his US tour.

Starting today, listeners will receive notifications informing them if they meet Spotify’s criteria and qualify as a ‘top fan’ of ROLE MODEL. From there, Spotify will reserve two tour tickets for eligible fans, which they can purchase within a 24-hour window before tickets go on sale to the general public.

In addition to push notifications, Spotify says it will notify you if you’re a top fan via email and pop-ups in the ‘Your Updates’ section of the Spotify app. The platform recommends having your notifications for live events turned on, and ensuring your app is updated.

If you wish to claim your Reserved tickets, tap the ‘Buy now’ button when your purchase window opens. Once you’ve selected your tickets, you’ll be taken to Ticketmaster where you can complete your purchase.

As per Spotify’s announcement the platform says that, if prompted, you’ll have to connect your Spotify account to your Ticketmaster account in order to verify your Reserved access. As far as availability goes, Spotify notes that “Reserved allocations include a range of seating and prices, and specific availability varies by show,” adding the following:

“For some high-demand shows, you may enter a queue before reaching the ticket selection page. 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”.

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Once the purchase window closes, unclaimed Reserved tickets will be released to the next most dedicated fans, and Spotify will notify them in the same way.

How do I know if I’m on the list?

This is the burning question we all want the answer to, and in short, there’s no way of knowing if you’ve met Spotify’s criteria prior to receiving a Reserved notification.

In deciding who qualifies as a ‘top fan’, Spotify doesn’t just take the number of times someone has streamed an artist into account. For the platform, it’s all based on engagement, meaning it considers shares, saves, and your overall streaming history with the artist. “There’s nothing random about who gets chosen!” Spotify claims, but the company is holding its cards very close to its chest.

While the company says it uses the above to measure engagement, it’s refraining from revealing every detail regarding how it decides who the top fans are. This is because Spotify wants to avoid strategic engagement, and prioritize authentic fandom (it also clarifies that relying on background listening to bump up streams won’t get you on the list).

Though you can purchase tickets to any date on an artist’s tour regardless of where you’re located, Spotify does take your location into consideration when it’s deciding who top fans are — which is a huge pain point. So, if an artist is touring a city that isn’t far from you, you’ll be more likely to receive a Reserved notification, which is a punch to the gut for mega fans who live in the sticks. Then there’s the case of fandom itself.

While I do think Reserved could be a good preventative measure for stopping ticket scalpers, there’s always the chance it could make fan culture even more of a battlefield for people to prove themselves as 'genuine' fans and gain bragging rights, when fandom has always been a place of community and not competition.

Does this mean that those who stream an artist to the ends of the earth are ‘bigger fans’ than those who engage in other means outside of Spotify, for example by investing in physical music which goes directly into the artist’s pocket? Will Reserved solve a legitimate issue that’s plaguing fans, or is it simply a badge of honor?

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Rowan is an Editorial Associate and Apprentice Writer for TechRadar. A recent addition to the news team, he is involved in generating stories for topics that spread across TechRadar's categories. His interests in audio tech and knowledge in entertainment culture help bring the latest updates in tech news to our readers.