Tag: pop up

Check Out SEVENTEEN and Spotify’s CARAT Station Pop-ups in Seoul and New York City

Since bursting onto the K-Pop scene in 2015, SEVENTEEN has transcended to global superstardom. Today, more than 30 million user-generated playlists on Spotify feature at least one track from the group. To amp up the excitement for their [RIGHT HERE] world tour, which kicked off in South Korea earlier this month, Spotify has teamed up with SEVENTEEN to bring fans the ultimate pre-concert experience.

From playlist curation to outfit planning, we know the lead-up to a concert is when fan anticipation is at its highest. In honor of SEVENTEEN’s fandom, known as CARATs, Spotify is building exclusive pop-ups ahead of live shows in Seoul, New York City, and Tokyo, where visitors can explore a fantastical train station dedicated to the K-Pop superstars.

“At Spotify, we are committed to supporting Korean artists and enhancing their connections with listeners,” said Jungjoo Park, Head of Music at Spotify Korea. “Our collaboration with SEVENTEEN to bring fans CARAT Station exemplifies our dedication through the creation of unique experiences that celebrate their artistry and special bonds with CARATs.”

Our first stop was Seoul in early October. This past weekend, we brought CARAT Station to New York City. Fans in Tokyo, stay tuned—CARAT Station is heading your way next!

“Spotify’s Music teams in Korea, the U.S., and Japan worked in lockstep to create unique events in each city that feel both authentic to that particular place and connected to the larger CARAT fandom. That’s why you’ll see common threads throughout each experience, but unique elements as well,” said Lucy Davidson, Lead Label Partnerships at Spotify. “When we build an experience in partnership with an artist, we aim not only to bring fans further into their creative world but also to offer something one-of-a-kind that only Spotify can.”

Relive our CARAT Station experiences and see photos from each city below.

CARAT Station Seoul

From October 5 through 11, CARATs in Seoul were invited to step inside the whimsical world of SEVENTEEN. Visitors brought amazing energy as they explored the metro station-themed pop-up in the city’s Gwangjin District, including special photo ops, exclusive merch, and surprise fan chant sessions.

“The subway-themed space displaying our fan chant guide videos left the biggest impression on us,” said SEVENTEEN. “The entire CARAT Station was beautifully decorated and filled with various fun elements that we believe made the time here truly enjoyable. We’re excited for even more visitors to experience this treat. Please have lots of fun and enjoy CARAT Station!”

Anglo Pop Finds Its Latin American Home on Spotify’s Pop Up Playlist

Justin Bieber is famously Canadian, Ariana Grande hails from Florida, and Dua Lipa calls Britain home. But something these huge pop stars all share is an energetic and expanding fan base not in their home countries, but within Latin America. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia boast avid Anglo pop listeners—fans who stream the top hits in English by the millions. 

To help these fans find what they’re searching for, Spotify created Pop Up, an Anglo pop playlist for Latin American listeners that provides a single regional home for the most popular tracks from some of the world’s biggest stars. It hosts the top charting artists in the region—those with over 100+ million streams. The growing playlist already has almost 5.5 million followers, more than half of whom are Gen Z and young millennials

Each week, the playlist is updated with tracks from Anglo pop artists around the world, giving listeners an opportunity to enjoy their favorite hits and enabling them to discover new tracks.

“The launch of Pop Up is a natural expression of how Anglo pop culture works in this diverse and music-savvy region that is Latin America. It also presents a massive opportunity for us to connect even deeper with an audience full of young people who live for music and the biggest pop hits,” says Juan Manuel Rótulo, Head of Editorial for Spotify in Latin America.

Surpassing all expectations, Anglo pop ranks in the top 10 of most-streamed genres in Latin America. Plus, this year we’ve seen a nearly 25% increase in the number of pop streams from Spotify users in Latin America, and a 36% increase among users in Colombia, which has seen the highest genre growth over the past two years of the five countries. Plus, since its inception as a regional flagship, the playlist has become part of the top 50 most-streamed playlists worldwide by daily active users. 

Check out who—and what—listeners across Latin America have streamed the most from the playlist this year.

Most-streamed artist:

  1. Dua Lipa 
  2. Justin Bieber
  3. Ariana Grande
  4. The Weeknd
  5. Harry Styles

Most-streamed song: 

  1. Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” 
  2. “Prisoner” – Miley Cyrus feat. Dua Lipa 
  3. “Levitating” – Dua Lipa feat. DaBaby

Finally, when it comes to country by country, Argentina has a unique fascination with One Direction, Brazil with Lady Gaga and Shawn Mendez, Chile with Bruno Mars, Colombia with Maroon 5, and Mexico with Selena Gomez. 

No matter where you are, stream Latin America’s favorite Anglo artists by playing Pop Up below.

Reflections on Angel Olsen and Spotify’s Interactive Audio Tour of ‘All Mirrors’

This past Saturday, indie artist Angel Olsen brought her critically acclaimed single “All Mirrors”  to life inside Villain—a dark warehouse and event space in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. Through a collaboration with Spotify, Olsen created an interactive pop-up listening event and invited fans to personally experience the song’s themes of change and transformation via a guided walk through a labyrinth of visual stimuli. 

“The team at Spotify has been incredibly supportive of this record and it’s been wild to see how one small song can come together in this interactive installation” said Olsen, who experienced the event for herself ahead of her sold-out show at Brooklyn Steel later that night. 

The collaboration was a part of Spotify’s ongoing efforts to lend support to artists at all stages of their career. “With every project that comes our way, we want to do right by the artist,” said the event’s creative director Tim Grover. “Whether they’re indie or major, underground or undiscovered, our goal is to help bring an artist’s creative vision to life and give fans something truly meaningful.”  

“Strong partnerships are always rooted in trust,” added David Ecker of Artist Label and Marketing. “It means the world to us that an artist of Angel’s caliber would trust us to expand upon her vision in such an unprecedented way.”

In this case, that meant honoring the transformative experiences that inspired Olsen to write “All Mirrors” by borrowing some of the unique assets featured in the song’s music video.

Scary is Nothing to Be Afraid of at Spotify’s Artist-Inspired NYC Costume Pop Up

This Halloween, step beyond trick-or-treating—and out of your comfort zone. Dare to listen to some of the artists who have endeavored to push culture forward in the pursuit of their art, whether via provocative on-stage performances, music videos, or their uncompromising style. 

At Spotify’s Stay Scary pop-up this past weekend, we celebrated artists who have done just that by inviting music fans to check out—and even take home—costumes inspired by artists like Billie Eilish, Freddie Mercury, Lil Nas X and Madonna at a thrilling immersive pop-up in New York’s Soho neighborhood.

The costume accessories included an Eilish crown adorned with spiders, similar to the one featured in the singer’s “you should see me in a crown” music video, and the Lil Nas X rhinestone-accented jacket patch seen in his “Old Town Road” music video.

Also available was Trippie Redd’s iconic fang grillz and as well as a replica of the live python Britney Spears famously draped around her shoulders during her 2001 MTV VMA’s performance of “I’m a Slave 4 U.”