Spotify Explores Expansion Into Events

Spotify is considering entering the events business, using data about consumer interests gleaned from its music-streaming service to host virtual and possibly live concerts, according to people familiar with the situation. The move could help Spotify improve its relations with music artists, which historically have been strained, with musicians complaining that they don’t make much money from the use of their work on the streaming service.

Spotify would sell tickets for the events, giving it a new source of revenue. If the business took off longer term, the move could help Spotify diversify its revenue beyond what it has to currently share with the music labels, following its nearly billion-dollar expansion into podcasting. But the medium-term revenue impact is likely to be minimal, as Spotify isn’t planning to try to compete with the giants that dominate the major-events business, such as LiveNation and Anschutz Entertainment Group, the people said.