Latest Episode Of “Spotify: For The Record,” Podcast: Gaming Giant Roblox

 Spotify released the newest episode of its podcast series, “Spotify: For The Record,” - a series that takes listeners behind the scenes on breaking news, product launches and business updates at Spotify. In this episode, hosts Neil Curry and Lea Palmieri dive into Spotify’s recently announced partnership with Roblox. 

You can listen to the full episode here.

 Earlier this month, Spotify shared the news that it would partner with gaming giant Roblox to create Spotify Island, which Spotift touts as, "a paradise of sound where fans and artists from all over the world can hang out and explore a wonderland of audio, quests and exclusive merch."

 

In this week’s episode, the hosts of “Spotify: For The Record” sit down with gaming journalist and creator of the Gaming Awards, Geoff Keighley; Spotify’s Vice President and Global Head of Marketing, Taj Alavi; Spotify’s Head of Music, Kossy Ng; and Gaming Youtuber, MeganPlays; to get a sneak peek inside Spotify Island, learn more about the partnership and explore the island’s first themed experience K-Park - an homage to all things K-Pop.

  

 Key Moments in the episode by timecode:

• 03:38-03:50  - The organic relationship between music and gaming.
• 05:25-06:34 - Why Spotify is partnering with Roblox.
• 07:50-09:20 - The most exciting features on Spotify Island
• 19:32-20:16 - Why Spotify picked K-Pop as the first genre with a themed experience on the island.
• 21:10-22:09 - Spotify’s K-Park collaboration with Sunmi and STRAY Kids.
• 28:29-29:01 - How artist involvement enhances the user experience on Roblox.
• 30:52-31:28 - The future of virtual concert experiences with Roblox.

 

Please see below for interview highlights in the episode:

03:38-03:50 - Geoff Keighley on how music and gaming have come together recently. 

“Music's the place where it's probably been the most prolific. And we certainly know that there have been lots of concerts Fortnite, with Marshmello and Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and the Lil Nas X concert. A couple of weeks ago, Lizzo did a performance inside of Roblox. It's very early days. It really is effectively just the song playing with kind of an animated avatar dancing around to it. But it's fun. I love, you know, the idea of just music coming to life in this world. And, you know, for a lot of kids, this is gonna be the first concert that they ever go to, right?”05:25-06:34 - Taj Alavi on why Spotify is partnering with Roblox for Spotify Island. “And that's exactly why wouldn't we be at ROBLOX? Because Roblox stands out as we're not only Gen Z but also Gen Alpha exist and their parents. So by focusing on a platform like Roblox, you're able to create not only an experience that takes Spotify off our platform and into a creative zone where someone can connect with artists and fans can connect with the things they love, but also present Spotify as a new value proposition, a whole new experience where I don't just go get music, but I can play music. I can create music with Soundtrap, I can get visual merchandise or verch to kind of get more and more connected to the music and the artists that I love. So Roblox the creativity, the opportunity to connect, and the opportunity to position Spotify in a whole new light with the next generation felt like a perfect fit.”


07:50-09:20 - Taj Alavi on the most exciting features on Spotify Island, 

 “One is the fact that you can go in the game, be where they are, which is a natural behavior, and the game has kind of the best of elements that are truly authentic to Roblox. So the authenticity of our experience being in line with what they love most about Roblox is one of my most favorite things…The second is this opportunity to connect with creators, which is something that this younger generation can't get enough of. They've grown up with YouTube and being able to subscribe to the YouTuber and have those intimate experiences. Another big piece that I as a parent get really excited about is SoundTrap and letting the users of Roblox go in there and really make their own music and have fun with that feature and in the process collect while they're going through the game, playing with the soundtrack, listening to creators, they get to collect merchandise, which is really taking kind of that merch muscle we have and applying it to the virtual world.”


19:32-20:16 - Kpssy Ng on how K-Pop entered the venture between Spotify and Roblox. 

"We've been working on K-Pop for a long time now since we launched Spotify in Asia about 9 years ago. So over the years, we've just seen an exponential growth of the genre. And I think as a company we've believed in our ability to field export and the desire to create borderless access to music. So today, we're seeing over 8 billion monthly streams of K-Pop worldwide and fans listening from all over the world. Some of the top markets are like in the U.S. We see Latin America and of course, Asia, so I guess that whole exponential growth and our dedication to really exporting this huge K-culture has then resulted in us creating an experience within Roblox, which is K-Park."


21:10-22:09 - Kossy Ng on K-Park’s collaboration with Sunmi and STRAY Kids. 

"So we're working very closely with Sunmi and STRAY Kids who are part of the K-Park experience. So Sunmi is actually a female solo artist. She was recently featured in our EQUAL Spotify Singles series and we're also excited to work with STRAY Kids, you know, we've been close to them since their debut and we've worked with them to create exclusive virtual merchandise that truly reflects who they are as artists. And those are on sale within Spotify Island. Since collectibles are such a big thing for K-Pop fans, these virtual merchandise are things that they can actually purchase. And, you know, I've tried out the game myself. I've actually got in my avatar the Gashina Dance from SUNMI, which is an iconic move from her hit single. So if you're a fan, you would know it and you're avatars dancing to it. It's pretty cool. There's also a chance to meet the artist avatars, and there will be experiences like meet and greets and moments where the fans will get opportunities to get these signs merchandise as well."


28:29-29:01- MeganPlays on how artist involvement will enhance the Spotify Island experience for users. 

“There are a ton of opportunities for stuff like that, so Roblox we don't call them games anymore, we call them experiences because Roblox has moved so far into the entertainment category…Having something like Spotify Island is really amazing to help get artists more introduced into the quote-unquote metaverse that is Roblox and reaching up for their audience that maybe or maybe they have not already had. Like there are so many amazing artists coming into the metaverse that I feel like maybe younger kids may not know about, but it just completely revitalizes the longevity of the music that's being put out there that makes sense.”


30:52-31:28 - Geoff Keighley on the future of virtual concert experiences with Roblox, 

“I think eventually going to get full-on concerts are going to be interactive. You're going to be able to pick what songs the artists play. You're going to get to interact with the artists, do interviews with them, and be a part of the experience. And I think these metaverse platforms of which Roblox is one, are really going to become the future of entertainment in general as a sort of gateway to a completely sort of virtual experience. It doesn't mean that you're never going to go to a physical concert again. I think there are other aspects of the physical concert experience that are very hard to replicate in a platform like robots, but as another way to sort of go and participate and be a part of something. I think there's almost unlimited potential for where these metaverse platforms go.”

 You can listen to the full episode here.