From Netflix’s (NFLX) recent forays into mobile games to whatever the Metaverse (MVRS) and the company formerly known as Facebook is, every youngish technology company that came to define life in the 21st century has been moving into the gaming world.
Now Spotify (SPOT) has announced that it will team up with the video game company Roblox (RBLX), a platform that allows users to make their own games or interact with other people’s games.
This will make Spotify the first-ever music streaming company to have an interactive, virtual universe on Roblox.
The company has previously partnered with Nike (NKE) and Hasbro (HAS) for similar campaigns.
After all, you can’t get caught without having a virtual universe these days. That’s just unbecoming.
What Are Spotify And Roblox Working On?
Roblox makes it easy for users to collaborate with each other virtually to build their own games.
Spotify has a digital audio workstation called Soundtrap that allows users to collaborate on music virtually, often without ever meeting face-to-face.
Now the two companies are putting those components together.
The partnership between the two companies will be known as Spotify Island. Fans will be able to create music together while hanging out in a Roblox-created virtual world.
The companies envision a virtual space where fans can interact with artists, complete interactive quests and unlock exclusive virtual merchandise.
Users can also climb to the top of “The Charts” by collecting virtual points in the form of a heart-shaped “Like” icon.
While Spotify Island will be the mainland, the plan is for several custom islands to soon join it in the stream, all of them filled with exclusive quests and opportunities to hang-out with artists.
The first specialty island will be K-Park, which will be dedicated to all-things K-Pop. When it opens this spring it will kick off by allowing fans to hang out with K-Pop stars Stray Kids and SUNMI.
Roblox probably doesn’t have the server capacity to host an island that could host all of the internet’s BTS fans.
Spotify will allow artists to create their own in-game virtual merchandise.
Spotify has said the sales of this virtual merchandise will go directly back to the artists.
Getty
Why Do All These Companies Need Video Games?
Netflix has been investing in mobile games of late, and Spotify is following them there for the same reason.
Netflix's subscriber numbers were already starting to sag by the end of last year, losing 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter.
It is now developing a more focused approach to its films and television shows, hoping to bring in new users and keep existing customers engaged.
Similarly, while Spotify is very often criticized for its low royalty payments to artists, the company has never once turned a profit since starting in 2006.
The margins on streaming music are razor thin, which is why it’s been investing so heavily in podcasts.
Those tiny margins may explain why Spotify would not cancel podcasting superstar Joe Rogan's exclusive contract, despite the Covid-19 conspiracy theories he spreads and past offensive comments.
Spotify now needs new customers while keeping the ones it has happy, and will expand its product offerings.
Whether Spotify has found a new way for music fans to discover music and interact with their favorite artists, or is simply a technology company, remains to be seen.
