Spotify is seriously considering the launch of an NFT-specific service on its music platform. For several days now, many users have been reporting on a new feature on their app. The update would give users the ability to access an artist’s NFTs directly from the artist’s profile.
Rumours of Spotify’s willingness to take a serious interest in NFTs have been circulating for several weeks. Indeed, in March this year two job offers related to blockchain, NFTs and web3 were spotted by the community.
Spotify already offers artists the opportunity to promote merchandise or even tickets on their profile. This latest addition would push the experience even further as artists would be able to build an NFT gallery directly within the app.
However, this update is only a test available to Spotify users on Android in the US. The Spotify spokeswoman said that “the company is conducting a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their existing NFT offerings via their artist profile”.
At the time of writing, two artists known for their proximity to NFTs have access to this opportunity. They are the American DJ and producer Steve Aoki and the rock band The Wombats.
Spotify to act as intermediary for the sale of NFT
The feedback is used to learn more about how this NFT gallery works.
Spotify is not a market place. It is not possible to buy an NFT directly from the music application. However, the user will be shown a preview of the NFT, but also a link to the Open Sea platform. The company would only act as an intermediary in this process.
Finally, for the time being, transactions from the NFT gallery do not earn Spotify any money, as the company does not take any share of the sales. Presumably, this would change if the feature were to be launched globally.
One major drawback has been reported by users. The NFT gallery is said to lack depth, as it currently only allows a static picture of the NFT to be seen without sound.
While Spotify wants to emphasise the user experience and the closeness of the artists to the audience, the inability to offer a visual and auditory experience would be contrary to this. However, the recent launch of this feature certainly explains this absence which should be corrected in the coming weeks.
Popular disinterest does not hinder business interest in NFTs
According to a study by the Wall Street Journal, daily sales of NFTs have fallen by 92%, from 225,000 in September to just 19,000 as of 5 May. Similarly, the number of active portfolios is down from 119,000 in November to 14,000 in early April.
Although a decline in the popularity of NFTs seems to be taking place, the big companies don’t seem to be worried about it in the long run. Spotify is keen to gauge the feelings of users, as they have collected users’ opinions on NFTs through a recent survey.
This trend confirms the growing interest of companies in this new sector. According to the company “some tests end up paving the way for a wider experience and others only serve as important learnings”. The next few months should quickly shed light on the implications of this test for the future of NFT on Spotify.
After Instagram’s announcement to integrate NFT on its platform, another giant is moving towards NFT adoption.
