Spotify makes its metaverse move opening Spotify Island in Roblox

pocket-lint.com:

(Pocket-lint) — While many companies throw out the word «metaverse» just to get top points in buzzword bingo, Spotify and Roblox are showing how it's actually done, announcing the opening of Spotify Island.

Spotify Island is a place where «fans and artists … can hang out and explore a wonderland of sounds, quests, and exclusive merch.»

Roblox is a game popular with children, because it lets you create the games that people can then play. It is, in reality, a manifestation of what many people think the «metaverse» will be like, where you have complete control of what's happening on the world you create. It has over 40 million daily active users.

Spotify says that it's the first streaming company to have a presence on the platform, allowing a closer interaction between artists and fans — and allowing Spotify to offer something more than just its music streaming on its own platform.

It's not the first time that we've had concerts in games — Fortnite for example has run many concerts — but the level of interaction provided through the gamification that Roblox allows adds a new dimension.

Spotify Island isn't a single destination — you'll be able to travel through portals to other destinations that will open up for special events, the first being K-Park, dedicated to K-Pop, with artists Stray Kids and SUNMI involved. There's the promise of other areas and other artists in the future.

Of course there will also be exclusive virtual merch for people to buy — we assume that this will be using Robux, the in-game current of Roblox. This means that there's a financial element too for Spotify. If you can sell your merch to gamers for them to wear elsewhere in Roblox, then there's a new dimension to the fan economy.

And that's very