Riot Games has announced a partnership with Spotify to make the audio streaming service the exclusive audio streaming partner of League of Legends Esports.
The multi-year partnership will be centred around League of Legends’ three annual international events: Mid-Season Invitational, the All Star Event, and of course, the World Championship.
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Music has been a crucial part of Riot Games’ strategy surrounding the World Championship for years, with the annual anthem becoming a source of excitement. 2018’s K-Pop song K/DA was the most notable success but the tradition has been running since 2014. Like many of Riot Games’ international sponsorships, this one is multi-faceted.
Spotify will launch a new music hub centred around LoL Esports with curated playlists, help develop podcast series covering the esport, and produce a behind-the-scenes look at developing this year’s Worlds Anthem. Spotify and Overwatch League partnered in 2018 for five curated playlists but this partnership clearly takes the collaboration a step further than the OWL did a few years back.
Naz Aletaha, Head of Global Esports Partnerships at Riot Games, said in a release: “Music and story-telling have become an intrinsic part of our sport and game, so we are excited to partner with Spotify to provide our fans with another platform where they can enjoy a new manifestation of League of Legends esports. Powered by our shared commitment to innovation, this partnership with Spotify further unlocks our ability to merge sports, technology, and music to create unforgettable entertainment experiences and content.”
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In addition to the new content creation, Spotify will also become the presenting sponsor of ‘Game 5,’ whenever a series goes the distance into the final match.
June Sauvaget, Global Head of Consumer and Product Marketing at Spotify, also commented: “Our partnership with Riot Games will create a first-of-its-kind audio universe for the millions of Spotify and League of Legends fans across the globe. As the exclusive — and first-ever — global audio service partner for League of Legends Esports, we plan to create the best possible audio streaming experience for our users, making discovering both music and podcasts easier than ever before.”
Esports Insider says: Riot Games continues to create partnerships that are new to esports. With the company’s success creating music for League of Legends Esports, this partnership feels like a logical next step. As long as the music is core to the universe (and preferably not performed by DJ Khaled) musical experiences for esports only add to the events.