SPOTIFY’S NEW UPDATE IS FOR THE MUSIC VIDEO LOVERS
226 million premium users world-wide will have the music video feature available.
Spotify users in eleven select markets will be the first to experience the streaming platform’s music video integration.
Music videos are coming to Spotify. As part of a beta program that the streaming giant is rolling out, users will soon be able to watch videos directly on mobile and desktop apps.
According to reports, Spotify’s VP Global Head of Consumer Experience, Sten Garmark said:
“For this beta rollout, we chose markets based on a number of criteria including market size and the availability of local content support … Stay tuned as we hope to expand the catalog of music videos and increase availability to more countries.”
The music video feature will eventually be available to all of Spotify’s 226 million premium users world-wide, but in the mean time following countries have been chosen for the initial rollout.
Brazil
Colombia
Germany
Indonesia
Italy
Kenya
Netherlands
Poland
Philippines
Sweden
United Kingdom
And the music giant, is not simply embedding YouTube videos or other third-party hosting sites in the app, rather they will be hosting the music videos directly in the Spotify app.
The interface for watching music videos on the mobile app is as easy as you would expect from the streamlined music provider. Listeners will be able to play videos from the “Now Playing’ screen by electing the option that says “Switch to Video.” In doing so, music videos will replace the album artwork. And for users wanting to watch videos in full screen, simply switch your phone to landscape and enjoy. Reverting back to audio only is as easy as tapping the “Switch to Audio” button.
Spotify confirms that music videos will appear in the right-hand column on the desktop app and will be available on the television version of the app as well.
The beta rollout will consist of a limited catalog of music videos across a wide range of genres and artists. But Spotify has already secured distribution rights to add additional music videos in the future.
Spotify did not respond to questions on how royalties for video streams will compare to audio streams. Their announcement comes weeks after Universal Music Group pulled their entire catalog from TikTok following royalty disputes.
The strategic move to add music videos to the Spotify platform positions the company to better compete with YouTube Music and Apple Music, both of whom offer videos to their audiences.