New Orleans Tourism Partners with Spotify and 360i to Launch First-of-its-Kind “Offline Playlist”

To celebrate the musical significance and diversity of New Orleans, we partnered with New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation (NOTMC) and Spotify to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience for music-lovers. From jazz and hip hop, to funk, blues, zydeco, and indie, we analyzed the authentic sound of New Orleans and developed the “Offline Playlist“- (referred to as Side A: Studio). The curated Spotify playlist features famous local New Orleans artists including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Jon Batiste, Amy Shaw, and Curren$y, among many other legendary performers. Using data from the Offline Playlist, NOTMC selected an exclusive group of listeners – with nothing in common but their love for New Orleans music – to experience the “Offline Playlist” live, with the artists performing for them exclusively at the iconic venue Preservation Hall. Collectively, the performing artists have more than 100 million Spotify streams and six Grammy nominations, and they all came together for the first time for this live music experience.

A concert for people with nothing in common but a Spotify playlist.

“Music is at the heart of our great city and is universally loved by both residents and visitors,” said Mark Roming, President & CEO, NOTMC. “Our goal with the Offline Playlist and this iconic concert is to celebrate the diverse sounds of New Orleans at Preservation Hall and subsequently a live playlist on Spotify. This campaign gives us an opportunity to shed light on our artists, the rich music scene and the essence of New Orleans in a memorably authentic way.”

Photography and footage from the concert was documented by the infamous rock-and-roll photographer Danny Clinch along with local filmmakers, and was used to create a Spotify album (referred to as Side B: Live) and a full-length documentary which will debut in early 2020 – making this the first Spotify playlist to be recreated live and subsequently developed into a film.

“This is the latest example of how New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation is committed to highlighting the authentic culture of this incredibly diverse city in their progressive marketing efforts,” said Menno Kluin, CCO, 360i. “They have a unique ability to showcase not only the rare genres of music coming out of the New Orleans, but also how music has the power to bring people together from all over the world.”

Learn more about the “Offline Playlist” experience in Adweek and Vibe.