‘Reserved’ feature launches in the U.S. this summer / Top premium subscribers chosen by streaming and sharing activity / Stock jumps 17% intraday / Söderström: ‘There is no media player for the generative age’
Spotify said on May 21 that it will set aside two concert tickets per show for an artist’s top fans to buy before general sale, introducing a feature called “Reserved.” The streamer also unveiled a licensing deal with Universal Music Group (UMG) that will let users remix and cover songs from opted-in UMG artists using a new AI-powered tool. As global music streaming runs into the limits of subscriber-led growth, Spotify’s playbook is shifting toward two new revenue layers — the super-fan economy and licensed AI creation.
