New York, February 18, 2026, 13:35 EST — Regular session
- Spotify climbed roughly 3% following SeatGeek’s announcement that it’s bringing primary ticket inventory to Spotify’s concert discovery platform.
- The stock surrendered its initial gains as Google introduced a music-generation tool in its Gemini app, reigniting concerns over new AI disruption.
- Traders are eyeing the Fed minutes later Wednesday, looking for any hint the ticket push might actually make a difference.
Shares of Spotify Technology S.A. climbed Wednesday after SeatGeek announced it would start selling primary tickets directly via Spotify’s event discovery feature. Still, an early rally lost steam following Google’s reveal of a new music creation tool built into Gemini.
Spotify shares climbed 3.3% to $477.88 in early afternoon action, bouncing around—a jump of over 5% at one point, then slipping briefly into the red. Investors wrestled with fresh nerves over generative AI and music, even as a new commerce push from Spotify came into focus.
Timing is a factor here. Spotify is making a stronger play for adjacent features—concert discovery, creator tools, various extras—while investors increasingly hunt for ways the company can earn beyond just monthly subscription revenue.
Big tech’s AI launches are landing in unpredictable waves across certain market corners, with a single product demo sometimes upending debates on content rights, royalties, and who gets to steer distribution.
SeatGeek says its “official primary ticket inventory”—those tickets sold directly by teams and venues, not from resellers—will now surface in Spotify’s event discovery, aiming for Spotify’s 751 million-plus monthly users. “This removes friction at the moment of discovery,” SeatGeek co-founder and president Russ D’Souza said. Spotify’s business development lead Abbie Riley described the move as “a significant step” toward expanding its event discovery platform. Businesswire
The stock jumped as much as 5.2% early on, then swung wildly after Google introduced Gemini’s new short music clip feature. Spotify, according to Investing.com, saw a quick reversal—shedding a 5% intraday gain almost instantly following the news. Investing
Google is rolling out a new music-generation feature, tapping DeepMind’s Lyria 3 model to produce 30-second tracks based on text prompts. Users can also upload photos or videos to influence the vibe. The tool, which arrives in beta, will show up for YouTube creators through Dream Track as well. Techcrunch
Spotify faces a confusing picture here. On-demand music creation tools might shift the way people discover tracks and shake up how platforms handle rights and spam. They could also spark new formats—potentially attractive for streaming platforms looking to distribute and cash in.
Momentum in the wider market provided a lift as well. U.S. equities advanced Wednesday, with tech stocks clawing back losses after an AI-fueled pullback and investors still searching for new interest-rate signals. Reuters
Still, there’s a catch: just moving more tickets on Spotify doesn’t guarantee real revenue. And with AI shaking up how music gets created and distributed, rights owners, regulators, and competitors might clamp down or tweak licensing — a headache for streaming businesses already dealing with tight margins.
Eyes turn to the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes, set for release at 2 p.m. EST, as investors look for any signal on interest rates that might rattle growth stocks. On the tech side, attention is on Spotify and its partners, gauging whether ticket link rollouts and AI-driven music will draw criticism or drive user engagement in consumer apps. Reuters
