Spotify is adding music videos to its mobile and desktop apps in select markets. The streaming giant allows you to seamlessly switch between audio and music videos on your mobile and desktop apps, which are tightly integrated with the company's music library.
However, the music video is currently only available in beta in 11 select markets, and the US is not included in this initial rollout. Here's the full list of countries where the music video will be released starting today: Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland, Philippines, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
“For this beta rollout, we selected these markets based on a number of criteria, including market size and availability of local content support. . . to expand our catalog of music videos and make them available in more countries. We want to make it possible, so stay tuned,” Sten Germark, vice president and global head of consumer experience at Spotify, said in an email.
In addition to being a resident of these countries, you must also have an active premium subscription to view the music videos. Free users still need to access YouTube to watch music videos.
Here's how it works: Instead of searching for music videos directly or browsing videos in a separate section of the app, you can start a music video from the Now Playing screen. If you're listening to a song with a music video and tap the button that says “Switch to video”…you can switch to the video.
The music video starts playing from the beginning (even in the middle of the track) and replaces the album artwork. If you want to view the video in full screen, rotate your phone to landscape mode.
For this feature, Spotify doesn't just embed YouTube videos or partner with third-party companies. The company hosts these videos directly and delivers them to users without ads. The company did not respond to questions about copyright fees when a song is played in video format compared to an audio stream.
If you want to return to playing in the background, tap the Switch to Audio button to turn off the music video. When you watch a music video to the end, Spotify plays the next song in your queue with audio.
On desktop, the right column displays music videos and provides information about the current song and artist. Spotify says this feature is also available on TVs, which makes a lot of sense. As a reminder, the company has released apps for his Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV devices, game consoles, and several smart TV models.
Initially, only a limited number of music videos will be available on Spotify. But the company has already secured distribution rights to add more videos in the future.
“For our initial beta rollout, we will start with a limited subset of our full catalog containing thousands of music videos. Within this subset, we aim to prioritize a wide range of genres and artists across our launch markets. “Germark said.
The timing of the feature's release is interesting, as Universal Music Group removed songs from TikTok following a dispute over royalties. When it comes to music videos, Spotify is adding more video content to the app, beyond Clips (short videos of artists talking to fans) and Canvases (looping album artwork).
At the same time, Spotify is catching up with other streaming services, making music videos available on YouTube Music when you search for a song or browse an artist page. Apple Music also has music videos in a separate section on each artist page. However, in both cases, switching from audio to video is not easy.
Image credit: Spotify