Spotify is making its boldest move yet to break free from audio-only streaming. The company launches music videos this month for US subscribers and boldly declares it's "creating a best-in-class video experience to rival the biggest players, like YouTube or TikTok." This isn't just feature creep - it's a full platform transformation as music streaming hits growth limits.
Spotify just threw down the gauntlet against YouTube and TikTok. The music streaming giant is rolling out music videos to US subscribers this month, complete with seamless toggling between audio and video versions of popular tracks. But this is just the opening salvo in what the company calls its evolution "from an audio-first platform to also become a world-class video service," according to recent job postings.
The timing isn't coincidental. Spotify struck crucial licensing deals with major labels and the National Music Publishers' Association this fall that specifically included audiovisual rights provisions. "These deals secure broader video rights that we've long needed," chief business officer Alex Norström told investors on the company's Q3 earnings call. "This was a critical strategic objective for us because it unlocks our ability to innovate and launch more products and features."
The numbers reveal Spotify's video ambitions are already gaining serious traction. The platform now hosts nearly 500,000 video podcasts and shows, with over 390 million users streaming video content. Watch time has more than doubled year-over-year, signaling genuine user appetite for visual content on the traditionally audio-focused platform.
MIDiA Research managing director Mark Mulligan sees this as Spotify responding to streaming's maturation crisis. "Music streaming is entering an optimization phase," Mulligan explains. "The last 10 years were about growth; the next 10 will be defined by consolidation." With Western markets approaching saturation for paid music subscribers, Spotify must compete for attention time against everything from Netflix to mobile games.
The platform faces a fundamental attention disadvantage, Mulligan argues. "Of all entertainment formats, music is the one consumers are least likely to be paying attention to - just under a third are focused on the music they are listening to when streaming. Adding video commands more of the senses and therefore attention."
