I remember when I first got Spotify back in college and realized there weren’t any music videos on the platform. While that was easily solved with YouTube, it did feel weird the service was missing them. Thankfully, the company is fixing that now.
In a blog post, the company announced that it is finally bringing music videos into the music streaming app. According to Spotify, music videos will be available across its iOS, Android, desktop, and TV apps. That’s great news since a lot of these things tend to launch on one type of device first and require a bit of a wait to come to all devices.
Charlie Hellman, Vice President and Head of Music Product at Spotify, said in a statement that music videos turn listeners into fans, and bringing the medium to its app was a natural next step for the company, the artists it hosts, and the fans who want to enjoy everything from their favorite artists.
“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.”
While this is great news, music videos won’t be available everywhere just yet. The company is launching the feature in a beta in eleven markets at first. The company also says that the beta will include a “limited catalog of music videos” including videos from mostly larger artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice.
So, where will music videos be launching in the beta? The first markets to get the new feature include the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya. Sorry, America. It is also only available to users with a Premium subscription, Spotify’s paid tier of service that costs $10.99 per month for the Individual plan, $14.99 for the Duo plan, and $16.99 for the Family plan.
If you’re in one of the countries to actually get the feature, here’s how you can start enjoying music videos on Spotify:
- Premium listeners in those markets can head to their iOS, Android, desktop, or TV devices and select the “Switch to Video” toggle for supported music tracks. Then, the music video will start playing from the beginning within the Now Playing view.
- Want to return to background listening? Simply press “Switch to Audio.”
- You can even watch the music video in full screen by turning your mobile device to watch in landscape mode.
The move brings Spotify even closer to Apple Music in terms of features. Apple Music has had music videos since, well, since it originally launched. Of course, Apple had a long history of offering music videos through iTunes, so they already had the infrastructure and deals to make that an easy add to its own music streaming service.
Regardless, it has always felt strange that Spotify didn’t have music videos, especially since it remains the largest music streaming service in the world. This was a much-needed addition, so it’s good to see the company finally get things moving on this front.
