Spotify Hints at Web3 Exploration, Hiring Professionals for Early-stage Projects

Audio streaming service provider Spotify is expected to become the latest tech company to enter the emerging technologies industry as it plans to integrate blockchain technology and NFTs into its platform. The move became apparent after Spotify posted two new job ads looking for individuals that could work on Web3-related early-stage projects.

Doing so could prove to increase the earnings of artists, but this could also lead Big Tech platforms to dominate the space which is currently filled with crypto-startups. Spotify’s announcement follows Instagram’s plan to support NFTs, which was confirmed by Mark Zuckerberg earlier this week. Twitter and Reddit are likewise building new features that would allow for the displaying or trading of NFTs.

The application of NFTs into music is seen as a breakout in the crypto industry, particularly as the market has been decelerating over the past few weeks. This could expand the space into the sale of digital albums or even allow fans to benefit from various perks such as merchandise and backstage passes.

Moreover, there are already prominent NFT collectors among big-name musicians including Snoop Dogg, DJ Steve Aoki, Kings of Leon, and Grimes who have either launched or sold their own music-related tokens. Major labels Warner and Universal have also teamed up with various NFT projects, one of which is a virtual band that features Bored Ape Yacht Club characters.

Spotify’s move is nothing novel as Royal and Catalog — both start-ups — are already selling NFTs that have been created by musicians, which provides the artists with a more lucrative alternative business model with the use of crypto. According to the job ad, Spotify is looking for an engineer to join its “experimental growth” team which is a “small and full-stack team… responsible for driving growth through new technologies, like Web3,” noting that the platform’s dive into the industry is still exploratory.

Another job listing seeks for a manager in its “Innovation and Market Intelligence” group, which is looking for individuals that have experience in “content, creator, media, web3, and emerging technology industries” to “help define Spotify Moonshots.” Spotify was previously involved in Facebook’s earlier crypto project Diem — then named Libra.

In 2019, Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek expressed his enthusiasm for crypto which could enable users of “a service like Spotify . . . to be able to pay artists directly.” “That can open up massive opportunities where all of a sudden, a user in Japan might pay a creator in Argentina. And that opens up huge opportunities for how we can further our mission,” elaborated Ek.

Source: Financial Times