Artists, labels, fans alike empowered to host parties, curate playlists

Weverse's Listening Party service is introduced. (Weverse Co.)
Weverse's Listening Party service is introduced. (Weverse Co.)

Weverse, a K-pop fandom platform operated by Hybe, officially launched a new feature called Listening Party on Thursday, designed to allow fans and artists to listen to music together and chat in real time.

The Listening Party service enables users to connect to their music streaming platform, create playlists and share them with others on Weverse while chatting live. Artists, labels and fans alike can become the host of a party, curating playlists that reflect their musical taste and interacting with others who tune in.

The new feature is powered by a partnership with the world’s largest music streaming platform, Spotify. Spotify Premium subscribers can link their accounts on the fandom platform to join the party and enjoy music directly through the app. Weverse plans to expand its support to additional music streaming platforms in the future.

“This new service expands the scope of what Weverse offers by introducing a new way of communicating through music,” Joon Choi, CEO of Weverse Co., said in a Monday statement. “Listening Party will deepen the bond between artists and fans by creating a space for shared music experiences.”

The feature reflects the rising popularity of pop stars’ listening parties globally, especially as part of album promotions and fan events. With this launch, Weverse adds a new interactive layer to its existing features, which include artist-to-fan communication, content distribution, commerce and livestreaming.

The Listening Party service can be accessed via the new “Party” tab on each artist’s community page on Weverse. Official parties can be hosted by artists and labels, while fans can also join in by linking their Spotify accounts and participating in real-time listening and conversation.

To mark the launch, Weverse will hold a series of special listening events in its Weverse Zone community.

Starting this week, playlists curated by artists including BTS’ Jin and J-Hope, Le Sserafim, ONF and Plave will be featured in weekly listening parties each Tuesday to April 15. Their playlists are already shared online through the “Playlist” section of Weverse Magazine.


jaaykim@heraldcorp.com