Spotify Launched Its Own Island on Roblox
Spotify has built a metaverse of sorts by launching its own interactive island on Roblox.
This allows the music streaming giant to be the first brand to exist in a popular online game. Spotify Island is described in the press release as “a heaven of sound, where fans and artists from all over the world can explore a wonderland of sounds, quests and very special prizes”.
It basically acts as a company to an online community that allows users to interact with participating artists such as virtual meetups, concerts, and more. Players can also complete quests, unlock exclusive artist-branded content, and create their own music through a virtual beatmaker station.
I toured the island during a hands-on demo. Painted primarily in Spotify’s shades of green, the vibrant forest area is essentially a platform-centric fusion of all things Spotify and music in general. I jumped, bounced, and painted railings through a neon world themed ‘little man in a big world’ thanks to the building-sized trees and gigantic vines. One wooden hole was lined with music keys, which produced notes when I pressed them. Surf the glittering path and you’ll find a unique melody.
Collect dozens of Spotify “Like” hearts to unlock new items and areas. For example, earning 1000 hearts will open the towering tree in the center for climbing. At the peak, I was able to access a device that allowed me to change the time on the island (only me). You can also create upbeat music by playing music from in-game playlists. Interacting with the whole island feels like playing with some kind of giant instrument. Although it offers small quests, it felt more like playing with a large toy rather than getting lost in a large, immersive open world.
Spotify hopes that the island will offer performers another platform to engage with their audiences, while providing a new destination for creating and sharing content and merchandise. In its presentation, Spotify described its partnerships with artists as collaborative and flexible and said they were willing to accept marketing slack for acts of interest that don’t have time to mess with every detail of their engagement. Spotify, for example, helps design virtual goods for these artists, and performers receive a private portion of their sales.
Spotify Island hosts special events. First released in the coming weeks, K-Park is a new area on the island that will highlight K-Pop by hosting South Korean boy band Stray Kids and singer SUNMI. Merchandise for SUNMI is now Stray Kids coming out in a few weeks.
