On the horizon of taking the company public without an IPO, Spotify has announced a partnership with makeup artist Pat McGrath in its biggest move to retail to date. By extending its already existing partnership with Merchbar, the streaming service will—through a Pat McGrath and Maggie Lindemann collaboration—allow users to “shop the look” of Spotify artists through the merchandising platform.
This groundwork effort not only diversifies the Spotify brand, it also sets the stage for how products are sold on other social media sites, like Snapchat and Instagram.
“In this digitally-empowered, digital era of make-up, where fans crave instant glamour gratification I always want to reach fans where they’re most engaged,” McGrath said in a statement. “That’s why this relationship with Spotify is absolutely major, because it merges beauty and music in a whole new way, that’s never been done before.”
SHOP #LiquiLUST007 Singles EARLY on @MaggieLindemann @Spotify now!! See the full video on https://t.co/YbyGE7Ocgf!???https://t.co/ql5G1UQwCV pic.twitter.com/VFxr0rYXV9
— Pat McGrath (@patmcgrathreal) November 13, 2017
McGrath already carries with her a huge social media presence — over 1.6 million followers — and her business, McGrath Labs, will kick off the partnership selling three styles of her lipstick.
Lindemann’s new single, “Obsessed,” will launch with the Spotify/McGrath campaign—also aptly titled “So Obsessed.” A corporate deal like this will no doubt be a welcomed additional revenue stream to affiliated artists, should the concept spread beyond Lindemann. Reportedly, Spotify won’t receive a cut from any of the sales.
Streaming services have struggled for a decade to grapple with falling artist royalties, and this move could help the company retain artists who use the streaming service for marketing efforts.
This comes off the heels of a YouTube and Ticketmaster partnership, announced yesterday, that allows for the integration of ticket sales with artists’ video pages. I imagine we’ll be seeing a lot more big-news integrated consumer strategies come 2018.
