Spotify Introduces Merchandise Center For Artists

Spotify introduced a new merchandise center for artists (photo: Doc. pexels)

JAKARTA - Spotify introduced a new merchandise center for artists on Monday 16 October that recommends items like t-shirts, vinyl records and this brass Lana Del Rey lighter for girls who like a mellow vibe.

This is the latest effort by Spotify to integrate merchandise purchases into the app, which has been a priority for artists who distribute their work through the streaming service.

Merch on Spotify is nothing new. The company launched a partnership with Shopify in 2021 and has made minor updates since then to make shopping easier. However, purchases still do not occur directly within the app. However users can browse items but are then directed to the artist's individual merchandise store.

Spotify doesn't take a cut of merchandise sales, but this push for merchandise also has a business purpose. It's common knowledge how little artists earn from streaming their music, and selling merchandise is an easy and profitable way to try to offset the difference.

If Spotify wants to keep artists happy or at least prevent them from rebelling, the company must make merchandise part of the user experience.

However, users must also be able to find the merchandise. The easiest way right now is to go to the merchandise tab on the individual artist page. As of Monday morning, users could only access the center via a link in the press release, as it did not appear on the app's home page or through search. A representative from Spotify said that they are looking into the issue.