Drink Diplo's tea, try Riize's snacks at Spotify's 'Best Place to Be a Fan'

“Hello? This is Woni!”

Pick up the receiver of an old-fashioned payphone, and the Rescene leader greets you in an upbeat voice, welcoming you to this year’s Spotify House Seoul, where the girl group will meet fans at the streaming giant’s offline event.

Alongside Rescene, visitors can also dial Riize, Yves, Hyukoh, Tiger JK and more in “The Artist Room,” as Spotify has dubbed it, connecting with their favorite artists through an offline extension of their online listening experience.

“Beyond all the technologies such as personalization or recommendation algorithms, music starts with artists,” said model Hong Hyun-ki, who hosted a media tour of this year’s Spotify House Seoul pop-up on Wednesday, a day before the four-day event kicks off at Anderson C in eastern Seoul.

“And when you love an artist, it doesn’t stop with their album,” he continued. “So this place is where you can feel one step closer to your favorite artists.”

This year’s Spotify House Seoul marks the third edition of the streaming giant’s offline House event in the city and runs from Thursday through Sunday.

Themed “Best Place to be a Fan,” the four-day event blends pop-up experience and live music. A K-pop and EDM-focused show featuring Diplo, Riize, Rescene and Yves will take place on Thursday. The second night will feature indie rock acts including Jannabi, Hyukoh, Silica Gel, KARDI and can’t be blue, while the third and final night will bring together hip-hop artists including Dynamicduo, The Quiett, Kid Milli, Okashii, Haon, Camo, Nowimyoung and Raf Sandou.

Before the concerts begin each night, fans can explore the daytime pop-up spread across the three-story building, designed to bring them closer to their favorite artists and help them connect with new people through their shared taste in music.

“Spotify aspires to be the ‘Best Place to Be a Fan,’” Hong said, emphasizing the theme of the event. “Spotify House is a place designed to let you physically experience the many moments of being a fan.”

The event is organized around three thematic pillars: the artist, the self and the culture.

The first destination of this year’s Spotify House Seoul, “The Artist Room,” is where visitors can listen to special voice messages recorded by this year’s performers through old pay phones. They can also write postcards to their favorite artists, which will be delivered after the event, creating two-way communication between the stars and their fans. Visitors can also purchase snacks personally selected by the artists from a vending machine, such as a bottle of Diplo’s favorite Oi Ocha green tea or a bag of original flavor Poca Chips, which are Riize's go-to nosh.

The experience continues in “The Mix Room,” where various objects — including a book, a skateboard and a loaf of bread — hang on the wall alongside Spotify codes that visitors can scan to access themed playlists. The songs displayed differ according to each visitor’s listening habits, creating a personalized experience.

At “The Play Lounge,” visitors can play a game of jenga — or “Jam’ga” — with strangers using Jam, Spotify’s real-time shared-playlist feature, or find out how closely their musical tastes overlap.

“Spotify House Seoul is built around the way fans experience music today,” said John Han, Head of Music at Spotify Korea. “Whether you're here for Diplo, Dynamicduo or Riize, we want every fan to discover something new, whether that's a new artist, a new genre or a new side of the music they already love. That's what Spotify has always been about, and Spotify House Seoul lets us bring that experience into the real world.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]