Event listeners are not triggered when app is running in the background

Any of the event listeners added to SpotifyRemote don't get triggered when the app is running in the background. It only works when the app is active and in focus - is this intentional?

Is there anyway to have the event listeners work even when the app is running in the background (including when the phone is locked)? Mainly need this for the `playerStateChanged` event. Thank you!