Spotify Hypes Launch of 'Canvas' with World's First Audiovisual Listening Bar

New York agency FIG and The Mill has launched a campaign, entitled ‘Your Art Has The Power To Move’ for Spotify for Artists’ new Canvas format, which allows artists to upload eight-second looping visuals that play with every track.

The role of visual art in music has always been a critical part of the relationship fans form with songs, and Canvas is the future of creating that connection on Spotify. FIG and The Mill were tapped to not only explain the new offering to artists and labels, but to also get them excited about its capacity to touch listeners in new and creative ways.

In Austin, FIG - with production partner The Mill - created Canvas Records, an audiovisual listening bar that displayed hundreds of the best Canvases created to date within custom-fabricated frames modeled after classic vinyl record sleeves. The event, which took place during the second weekend of Austin City Limits, invited musicians and industry professionals to browse the Canvases first hand, seeing up close and personal how moving artwork creates an entirely new and powerful dynamic between artists and their audience. Featured Canvases included artists like Billie Eilish, Bon Iver, Lil Wayne, John Mayer and more.

During the event, guests were invited to explore the Canvas Records by interacting with them on the shelves. Each Canvas Record was able to be picked up and held like a real record. Additionally, the back of each record featured the corresponding song’s Spotify Code, which guests could scan using their Spotify app to listen to the song right there on their phone.

After finding a Canvas they liked, guests were invited to take the record up to a one-of-a-kind listening bar. There, a team of bartenders - lead by Justin Lavenue, owner of the heralded Austin cocktail establishment The Roosevelt Room - mixed up a custom cocktail inspired by the chosen Canvas.

The bar featured three seats, each with a parabolic speaker overhead, so guests could have an intimate experience, listening to their song as their drink was made.

“The second we imagined how amazing it would be to walk into a record store where every single album cover was alive, we knew we had to figure out a way to make it a reality. There were a ton of technical challenges to overcome, but the team went above and beyond and we couldn’t be more happy with the result. From FIG Design Director Max Friedman’s completely unique artwork that framed each Canvas, to the dozens of custom posters and flyers hung around the space, this was a labour of love and you can tell in the details," says FIG creative directors Spencer LaVallee and Evan Schultz.

Check out all 100 Canvases featured at the event on this playlist (iOS or Android app). Learn more about Canvas on this website.