Spotify and FC Barcelona Team Up With The Rolling Stones on a Special El Clásico Shirt, Merchandise Collection, and Matchday Playlist
Whether it’s fans singing in unison, a player listening to a track to energize their training, or a global artist whose second love is football, the worlds of football and music are closely linked. Through our first-of-its-kind partnership with FC Barcelona, we’ve worked to deepen that connection for fans, artists, and athletes. And on October 28, we’re taking a giant step forward.
View this post on Instagram
When the FC Barcelona men’s squad steps onto the pitch for another famous El Clásico fixture, they’ll yet again sport a special home shirt featuring none other than The Rolling Stones’ iconic Tongue and Lips logo. Thanks to Spotify, it will be the first time a band has been featured on the FC Barcelona shirt.
Mick Jagger and Ronnie Wood, along with the band’s keyboard player Matt Clifford, were in attendance at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium—the site of their previous Barcelona performance in 2017—to watch the match and cheer on FC Barcelona.
Just before the players came out onto the pitch, 50,000 fans in the stands helped create a large mosaic bearing the Barça colours, the iconic lips and tongue logo and banners that read “Força Barça” and “Let’s make it legendary.”
From L-R: Alex Norström Co-President, Chief Business Officer at Spotify, Rolling Stones keyboard player Matt Clifford, Ronnie Wood, FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, Mick Jagger, Juli Guiu, vice president of Marketing at FC Barcelona, Marc Hazan, Vice President of Partnerships at Spotify.
Fermin Lopez and İlkay Gündoğan take to the pitch in special Rolling Stones branded FC Barcelona jerseys ahead of El Clásico, created as part of Spotify’s partnership with the club to celebrate the band’s new album Hackney Diamonds.
Rolling Stones mosaic is unveiled by FC Barcelona fans ahead of El Clásico, created as part of Spotify’s partnership with the club to celebrate the band’s new album Hackney Diamonds.
Mick Jagger (bottom row, second from R) and Ronnie Wood (bottom row R) and keyboard player Matt Clifford (bottom row, second from L) of The Rolling Stones in attendance at El Clásico with; Juli Guiu, vice president of Marketing at FC Barcelona (bottom L); Marc Hazan, Vice President of Partnerships at Spotify (middle Centre); and Alex Norström, Co-President, Chief Business Officer at Spotify (middle R).
Rolling Stones mosaic is unveiled by FC Barcelona fans ahead of El Clásico, created as part of Spotify’s partnership with the club to celebrate the band’s new album Hackney Diamonds.
The Rolling Stones’ iconic sound has been the backdrop for listeners worldwide on Spotify, soundtracking the lives of fans near and far, young and old. With Hackney Diamonds—the band’s first album of original material in 18 years—set to release on Spotify October 20, El Clásico offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate two of music’s and football’s biggest legends together on one pitch.
But the special matchday shirt won’t be limited to a single cameo appearance. In addition to El Clásico, the Rolling Stones FC Barcelona shirts will also be worn by the Barça Femení side during their home match on November 5.
Following the announcement that the Tongue and Lips logo would appear on the El Clásico matchday shirts, average daily streams of The Rolling Stones jumped by more than 125% on Spotify compared to the day before.
“It’s an honor to feature the legendary Rolling Stones on the legendary FC Barcelona shirt,” said Marc Hazan, VP Partnerships, Spotify. “Only Spotify could bring The Rolling Stones to the global stage of El Clásico—one of the few stages they haven’t played!”
And when it comes to fans of the Rolling Stones in Barcelona, they can’t get enough of “Paint It, Black,” which is their most-streamed Rolling Stones song on Spotify, followed by “She’s A Rainbow” and “Anybody Seen My Baby?” In fact, on October 19th, The Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black” became the newest member of the Billions Club, surpassing 1 billion streams on Spotify.
“We’re huge football fans and honoured that Spotify have brought our Tongue and Lips logo to grace the FC Barcelona shirt to celebrate the release of the Stones’ new Hackney Diamonds album,” The Rolling Stones said about their special FC Barcelona shirt. “We’ll be cheering on the players on the pitch as well as fans around the world who will be tuning in to watch this iconic match.”
This momentous collaboration with the Rolling Stones is just the latest of many ways we’ve worked closely with FC Barcelona to bring the worlds of music and sport together. Through artist collaborations, studio visits, and concerts, stars like ROSALÍA, Drake, Daddy Yankee, and Pusha T have shone brightly.
Now, with hundreds of millions of fans in hundreds of countries expected to tune into this month’s El Clásico, we can’t wait to celebrate the Stones’ new album and bring their music to a whole new global audience.
FC Barcelona will also share a special edition of the popular Barça Matchday playlist on Spotify, which features top rock songs and music from The Rolling Stones to motivate the players and fans in the build-up to the game.
“Yet again our collaboration with Spotify has taken things to the next level. Bringing together two icons—the Rolling Stones logo and the Barça jersey—is a special moment for our fans around the world,” said Juli Guiu, VP Marketing, FC Barcelona. “Music and football form a special partnership with a long future ahead of them and we are happy to add another chapter to the story alongside Spotify.”
These matchday-quality shirts are limited edition, and after the incredible reaction to the Drake and ROSALÍA shirts, we know Rolling Stones fans will be very excited to get their hands on these. That’s why the limited-edition shirt will be available to purchase online from the official FC Barcelona store on October 23 with a presale beginning October 19. There will be 1899 jerseys available, inspired by the club’s founding year. Additionally, the site will offer a very special collection of 22 jerseys signed by the 11 starting men’s and women’s team players.
And for the first time, Spotify and FC Barcelona are debuting a limited-edition lifestyle collection of clothing including t-shirts, hoodies, bomber jackets, bucket hats, and more featuring the Tongue and Lips logo in a custom football design alongside the football club’s badge and Spotify logo. Photographed at NYC’s Electric Lady Studios, where songs from Hackney Diamonds were recorded, the collection takes the classic matchday shirt and transforms it into apparel designed to be worn and styled off the pitch. The collection can be purchased starting October 23 via the FC Barcelona Store.
We’re thrilled to team up with FC Barcelona and the Rolling Stones to create this unique experience for fans. And just as Barça has been home to some of the greatest legends football has ever seen and Spotify is a home for music’s greats, the Rolling Stones logo will be at home on the Blaugrana shirt.
View this post on Instagram
