Spotify’s new Reserved feature lets “real fans” skip the concert ticket queue

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Spotify is trying to improve concert ticketing for its biggest fans, and believes it can do so by looking at the music you listen to.

Ugh, as a gamer, I totally get the struggle of trying to snag tickets to a popular show. You sit there hitting refresh, racing against what feels like a million other fans and those annoying bots, and still usually end up with nothing. It’s like trying to win a super competitive online match – frustrating, but you keep trying!

Spotify’s new Reserved program is designed to address this issue by offering Premium subscribers exclusive early access to popular content, but only if they meet certain criteria.

Spotify’s new feature will let you skip the ticket queue

Reserved launched on May 21st and is currently available to Spotify Premium subscribers in the US who are 18 or older. It will be expanding to other countries soon.

This feature finds an artist’s biggest fans by looking at how much they listen and share the music. Those fans then get a chance to buy up to two concert tickets about 24 hours before they go on sale to the general public. Spotify will also check for and block automated bots to ensure real fans get priority access.

However, there are a few limitations. Reserved will initially be available this summer for a limited number of artists and tours, but it will gradually expand to include events of all sizes.

Spotify also cautioned that demand for concert tickets will likely be much higher than the number available, so even if you listen to a lot of an artist’s music, you still might not get a ticket offer.

To qualify, your location must be near a tour stop, and you need to have notifications and location services turned on to get ticket offers. Spotify also confirmed that there won’t be any additional fees when you buy tickets through Reserved.

This new program expands on Spotify’s current work in live music, which has already helped artists earn over $1.5 billion in ticket sales through its concert listings and venue partnerships. It comes at a time when Ticketmaster was recently prohibited from selling resale tickets for more than their original price in Ontario.

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2026-05-21 22:49