How Spotify Built Its FC Barcelona Sponsorship Into a Music-Fashion-Culture Goldmine
Marc Hazan, Spotify's global VP of marketing and partnerships, spoke to SportsVerse about the strategy behind one of sport's most innovative sponsorships.
Hi friends! Welcome back to another edition of SportsVerse, your favourite newsletter at the intersection of sports, fashion, culture and business. Powered by OffBall.
Today’s SportsVerse deep-dive features an exclusive interview with Marc Hazan, Spotify’s global VP, marketing and partnerships. We met up in April at Spotify’s sleek offices in New York’s Financial District, 64 floors up in the sky, where we (mainly) discussed the innovative strategy behind the music streaming giant’s partnership with FC Barcelona, bonded over our shared love of Arsenal, and found out we were from the same tiny corner of North West London. Special thanks to Adam Paris for making this interview happen.
Last week, Barcelona released a new jersey in its traditional home colours, with a small but important new detail front and centre, sending the internet into a frenzy.
The jerseys in question — carrying rapper Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack logo in place of that of the team’s usual front-of-shirt sponsor, Spotify — instantly delivered record sales. These special edition kits (in honour of the upcoming El Clásico tie against Real Madrid this weekend) are already changing hands for as much as $2,229 per unit on resale platforms like StockX.
The Cactus Jack tie-up with Barcelona is the latest and most successful example in a line of jersey collaborations engineered by Spotify since it became the historic club’s sponsor in 2022, in what’s quickly become one of sport’s most creative partnership deals.
Each year, for the El Clásico game, Spotify removes its logo from the front of the Barcelona jersey — giving up critical viewership exposure in one of the most watched 90 minutes in global sport — in place of an artist on their platform they want to highlight. It’s a risky strategy that could have very quickly turned into an own goal, but instead has become one of the most exciting and anticipated cultural aspects in football jersey culture each season, which the company benefits from by association.
Each artist or band so far selected by Spotify and Barcelona for this annual collaboration has had a unique connection to football culture and/or Barcelona specifically. Drake’s OVO label was the first to adorn the jersey for a tie against Real Madrid in 2022, a celebration for him becoming the first artist to pass 50 billion streams on the platform. Rosalia was up next, followed by The Rolling Stones, Karol G and Coldplay.
But the reaction to the Travis Scott x Cactus Jack x Barcelona, both from traditional and casual fans and the Barcelona players themselves, was like nothing anyone had ever seen before.
“Seeing the jersey deliver record sales is testament to the impact this partnership is having. The level of energy we have felt from the fans has been incredible and is exactly what we set out to do with FC Barcelona and Travis,” said Marc Hazan, global VP of marketing and partnerships at Spotify.
Spotify feels like it’s struck gold with the partnership model, which also includes the naming rights to Barcelona’s soon-to-be new and improved Camp Nou stadium, reopening in 2026.
It’s very rare that shirt sponsorships move the cultural needle or have any impact on society or consumers at all. It’s typical nowadays for major banks, airlines or untraceable betting or crypto companies to spend hundreds of millions of dollars simply to be able to plaster their name and logo across a team’s jersey, merch and stadium, simply for the exposure. But Spotify has found a way to use its relationship with one of the world’s most historic and beloved football teams to drive hype, global interest and sales by leveraging its unique position at the intersection of a few valuable cultural lanes.
“The opportunities are pretty endless with it,” said Hazan, speaking of the annual jersey takeovers. “And it really hits the zeitgeist, in bringing the two great passions of the world together in football and music, in a way that feels so right.”
A Football Fashion Revolution
While Hazan told me the Barcelona partnership allows for Spotify to blend the world’s two biggest passions in sports and music, I put it to him that it hits upon another coveted global interest: fashion.
Football jerseys are now fashion items and can carry huge cultural and, in the case of the Cactus Jack x Barcelona jerseys, monetary value as well. When Spotify first trialled this style of partnership by putting Drake’s OVO label on the Barcelona jersey in 2022, it inadvertently created a coveted item of football fashion, just as jerseys were starting to be adopted by consumers who didn’t even necessarily follow the sport on a deep level. Back then, the initial reaction caught Spotify so off guard that the shirt wasn’t even for sale, Hazan said, recalling how his phone was blowing up with people wondering where they could get their hands on it.
Subsequent jerseys have been made available for sale and have gone on to become football-fashion grails. The Barcelona x Rolling Stones El Clásico jersey still trades hands on StockX for over $1,000, while the last sale of the Barcelona x Rosalia jersey on the resale platform went for $938.
This year, working with Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack, one of the most coveted imprints in streetwear, Spotify, Barcelona and Nike knew they had to seize the opportunity and go beyond the one jersey that will be worn by the players on the pitch against Madrid this weekend.
They worked with Travis Scott to design a limited edition Cactus Jack x Barcelona collection which includes hoodies, a t-shirt, a retro jersey, accessories and a retro football.
“This was our opportunity to create something truly authentic and credible with someone with such a foothold in culture and who is viewed as a fashion icon, particularly in the streetwear community,” Hazan said.
A Unique Partnership
Because of the synergies between their two worlds, Barcelona and Spotify have been able to integrate their partnership on a far deeper level than most traditional corporate sponsorships.
Spotify has leveraged the cultural cachet and natural affinity to music and fashion of Barcelona stars like 17-year-old Lamine Yamal and Jules Koundé, working with them on bespoke gameday playlists on the platform that fans can also listen to what their favourite players and bumping in the dressing room pre-game.
And the two companies are making the most of working with Travis Scott to deliver unique experiences to the Barcelona players, as well as die-hard music and football fans.
Travis Scott will perform in Barcelona for his first-ever concert in the city, in an exclusive, invite-only show available to his biggest local fans at an intimate venue in the lead up to this weekend’s game. Scott will then also attend the match — his first ever El Clásico — where he will see the Barcelona players wearing his jersey. Naturally, there will also be a Travis Scott takeover of the Barca match day playlist on Spotify.
Hazan, who has worked at Spotify for 14 years, is excited for the future of the partnership and potential new ways the two brands can activate collaborations down the line, especially with the reopening of the (Spotify) Camp Nou, which will be Europe’s largest stadium.
“It’s about staying respectful and authentic to football culture and the culture of the club,” he said. “But there’s really no limit to where we can take things in future, and we’re not afraid to try new things.”
That’s all for today, friends. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
We’re back next week with another exciting interview, this time with the co-founder of a $2bn global sneaker and sportswear giant — one I’ve covered for years. Any guesses?
Until next time,
DYM
This was an interesting read. I am particularly struck by the ending quote: "It’s about staying respectful and authentic to football culture and the culture of the club" - I am curious to understand what makes Travis Scott an authentic football asset? No shade either, I am intrigued by his role in today's fan culture.
I think in a time where FC Barca was struggling financially and was feeling the post-messi depression, this was exactly what they needed. A fresh take on their marketing. Great piece!