Skip to main content

Spotify's party house at SXSW will have live performances and a cardio party

spotify sxsw 2016 party house details entertainment 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Today, Spotify unveiled an artist lineup and further details for the interactive Spotify House showcase it will build for South by Southwest (SXSW) 2016, running March 14-18, and it’s looking like a regular smart playpen for music lovers.

This will be the streaming music service’s fifth Spotify House showcase at SXSW, but this year’s seems to reflect the company’s growing dominance in the streaming music space with bigger and better features across the board. The house will come equipped with a Chromecast Audio Porch, Playstation Music Arcade, daily rides on SoulCycle, and much more. The showcase will also feature more than 45 performances across two stages from the likes of Vince Staples, Miguel, D.R.A.M., Kacy Hill, and a plethora of others. Comedian (and DT’s recently crowned virtual reality porn expert), Hannibal Buress, will also the showcase on March 14 and 15.

The Chromecast Audio Porch will allow people to test out Spotify’s new Chromecast compatibility in the Chromecast Audio Soundbooth and watch exclusive live music and shows on The Porch. Chromecast and Spotify’s humble abode will also allow attendees to play with the Jukebox app, which allows people at a designated location to vote on the next song to play on the playlist.

At the Playstation Music Arcade, attendees will be able to play MLB The Show 2016 weeks before its March 29 release date, as well as Street Fighter V. Syfy and Spotify will immerse fans in the network’s new show Hunters, which Spotify teamed up with earlier this year.

The Spotify House will also make art out of data, literally. Acclaimed visual artist Shantell Martin will create a mural from Spotify’s listenable map of global music interests on everynoise.com, a site that plots the 1,300+ music genres available on Spotify on a playable map, a feature that should make Martin’s mural truly interactive. 

Those somehow not getting enough exercise pacing SXSW’s massive expanse will be able to enjoy one of SoulCycle’s “cardio parties” while listening to world famous DJ’s Chromeo, AlunaGeorge and Neon Indian. The press release for the Spotify House states the sessions will come with an “immersive, 360 projection mapping experience,” so you’ll be amazed while you sweat. Spotify has also partnered with car-sharing company Car2Go to provide any needed travel.

In an effort to be the most responsible party host possible, Spotify are will donate the materials used to build the Spotify House toward a new recording studio project for the students at nearby Kealing Middle School. Whether your choice of fun is video games, music, or TV, the Spotify House looks like it will be on of the festival’s go-to destinations.

To RSVP for the showcase you must do so here, but only if you’re a Spotfy account holder.

Editors' Recommendations

Keith Nelson Jr.
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Keith Nelson Jr is a music/tech journalist making big pictures by connecting dots. Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY he…
Spotify Plus might give free users unlimited track skipping for $1 per month
Screen capture of the Spotify app promoting Spotify Plus.

Spotify appears to be testing out a new paid subscription option called Spotify Plus. At just $1 per month, it's far cheaper than its $10 per month Premium plan, but as you might expect, there's a reason. Unlike the Premium plan, Spotify Plus members won't be able to avoid ads, but they will get an unlimited number of track skips. Free Spotify members are currently limited to six skips per hour.

Originally reported by The Verge, Spotify Plus members will also get the ability to directly access tracks from a given album, another feature that free users don't get. Digital Trends reached out to Spotify to confirm these details, but the streaming company wouldn't entirely commit. "We're always working to enhance the Spotify experience and we routinely conduct tests to inform our decisions," a Spotify spokesperson told us via email. "We’re currently conducting a test of an ad-supported subscription plan with a limited number of our users. Some tests end up paving the way for new offerings or enhancements while others may only provide learnings. We don’t have any additional information to share at this time."

Read more
If you sign up for Spotify’s Car Thing, you might get one for free
Spotify Car Thing

Spotify's Car Thing, a gadget that lets users access the company's streaming music offering in a driver-friendly format, is finally a product regular Spotify Premium subscribers have a chance of getting their hands on.  As part of the device's formal launch, subscribers can sign up to get one, and, remarkably, Spotify is discounting the entire $80 price, asking that eligible customers only pay the $7 shipping charge.

What exactly is Car Thing? It's a device that Spotify has been working on for a few years, using early prototypes to understand how its customers interact with Spotify's streaming audio content while in their cars. The version that the company has just released looks like a smartphone with a large rotating knob attached to the front of the display.

Read more
Spotify vs. Pandora
Spotify logo on a phone.

You’ve probably heard that there are two types of people out there: people who listen to their music on Spotify and people who use Pandora. While Pandora has been around for decades and many people credit the streaming service for revolutionizing the music industry, there’s also a reason Spotify has become so popular in the past few years.

If you're a music lover, both services are certainly worth using. Still, if you're considering upgrading to paid tiers like Spotify Unlimited or Pandora Premium, you will want to know what you're getting for your hard-earned cash. We pit Spotify and Pandora against each other to help you decide which is right for you, and after comparing these two music services closely, Spotify comes out on top.
Background
For better or worse, Pandora's Music Genome Project helped revolutionize the music industry when it debuted in 2000, creating a new standard for online music streaming. Since then, numerous competitors have sprung up, with iHeartRadio, Last.fm, TuneIn, and more borrowing Pandora's "radio station" model with varying degrees of success. In fact, Pandora has been so successful at radio-style programming that SiriusXM recently agreed to purchase it.

Read more