Spotify Begins Testing NFT Gallery Feature on Artist Pages in the US

Music streaming giant Spotify is testing a new feature on its artist profile pages, which showcases non-fungible token (NFT) collections and allows artists to promote NFTs they own on their profile pages. For now, only a handful of Android users in the US can check out the new feature and from what we know, the app displays an NFT gallery on some of the top artists involved in the NFT space, including DJ, record producer, and music programmer Steve Aoki and English indie rock band The Wombats.

Artists can promote their third-party NFT offerings in the gallery, which is located just after the song list on the artist's page. The NFTs pictured in the gallery can be enlarged by tapping on them, which also brings up a ‘See More' option that takes the user to the NFT's listing on NFT platform OpenSea. It is worth noting that Spotify is currently not taking a commission for sales that may result from the gallery feature.

In a statement to Music Ally, Spotify said, “Spotify is running a test in which it will help a small group of artists promote their existing third-party NFT offerings via their artist profiles. We routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve artist and fan experiences. Some of those tests end up paving the way for a broader experience and others serve only as an important learning.”

The streaming giant is reportedly looking to expand into Web 3 offerings itself, according to reports earlier this year in February. Spotify is looking to hire a senior-level engineer to work with upcoming technologies like Web 3. The appointee will be a part of Spotify's experimental growth team. One of the major focus areas of the chosen candidate will be to use Web 3 components and map out the next big step for the music streaming giant.

“You will work facilitate collaboration with product, insights, and design to uncover the next growth opportunity leveraging new technologies, like Web 3,” Spotify's LinkedIn job post read at the time.

As more and more companies try to catch the NFT wave, it looks like that initial surge has been watered down for now. According to The Wall Street Journal, daily NFT sales have dipped 92 percent from 225,000 in September of last year to just 19,000 as of May 3. The number of active NFT wallets is also on the decline, from about 119,000 in November to 14,000 towards the end of April.