Music streaming platform Spotify said today it is rolling out music videos in beta for the company’s Premium users across 11 markets. With this Spotify is set for a direct competition with Google-owned popular audio/video platform YouTube.
Starting today, the Swedish company will begin testing the full-length music videos to its Premium base in the countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya. “The beta version of music videos on Spotify begins rolling out today with a limited catalog of music videos, including hits from global artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice, or local favorites like Aluna and Asake,” the company said in a blog.
To watch music videos on Spotify, the eligible users in these countries will have to select the “Switch to Video” toggle for supported music tracks on their iOS, Android, desktop, or TV device. They can enjoy the music video playing in the Now Playing view. To return to background listening, users need to select “Switch to Audio” toggle. And like YouTube, users can turn on full screen of the video by turning their mobile device to landscape mode.
The company plans to expand the catalog of music videos and bring the feature to more users and countries soon. In February, the music giant reported 236 million Premium users and forecasted its premium subscribers would reach 239 million in the current quarter, Reuters reported, citing IBES data from LSEG. Spotify’s monthly active users stood at 602 million in the fourth quarter.
The recent launch will not only aid Spotify to attract more users but also put it face-to-face with rivals like YouTube and Apple Music. According to a report by Oberlo, citing data from Statista, the total number of YouTube users across the globe is forecasted to hit 933.39 million in 2024. The platform is forecasted to gather 996.4 million by 2025 and exceed one billion by 2026.
