Spotify has officially launched support for a “limited catalog” of music videos.
The audio streaming platform has revealed the feature is a “beta” now available in 11 markets, with supported artists including Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, Ice Spice and Asake.
“So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan. They’re an important part of so many artists’ tool kits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music,” Charlie Hellman, vice president and head of music product at Spotify, commented.
The music video feature is available on the “now playing” screen for supported songs, with a “switch to video” button above the title. If you tap that, it will restart the song with the video playing in the middle of the screen.
For iOS and Android users, you can rotate the device to play the video full screen, while tapping “switch to audio” will take you back to the more familiar “now playing” display.
Videos require a premium subscription and are available to watch on desktop and TV as well as mobile devices.
Currently, the feature is available in the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Brazil, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia and the Philippines.
“For this beta rollout, we chose these 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.” Spotify’s VP Global Head of Consumer Experience, Sten Garmark, told TechCrunch.
