Spotify has rolled out video watching feature for users in select regions. The feature available for years on YouTube Music now comes to the popular music streaming platform, as many state that it could even challenge YouTube’s domination. The benefits are certainly there; however, there are some caveats.
Who gets to watch videos on Spotify?
At first, only premium Spotify subscribers can watch music videos. Users can tap on ‘Switch to video’ for select tracks, and it’s available on mobile, desktop, and TV apps. The video resumes from where it left off last time. And the track can be switched to audio mode only for background listening.
Recently, Spotify allowed users to stream music for free without a subscription. The latest rollout, though, only comes to premium subscribers in select regions, but it does point to more democratization of Spotify services
But there are some limitations to Spotify videos
Watching music videos on Spotify is going to be initially available for select tracks. You can access them via “90s Video Hits” or search videos on artists’ profiles.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that watching videos means exhausting a huge amount of bandwidth. Users on the unlimited plan may feel that, but with low volume and on PAYG mode, it could be off-putting to watch videos.
Video streaming demands significantly more storage and bandwidth than audio—likely why Spotify is limiting the beta to two markets and Premium subscribers only. The company turned its first profit in 2023, but scaling video infrastructure represents a substantial ongoing cost with uncertain returns.
Spotify claims users who discover tracks with videos are 34% more likely to stream them again and 24% more likely to save or share them. But these numbers don’t address whether users actually wanted videos on Spotify, or if they’d simply engage with those tracks anyway on YouTube.
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Music Videos on Spotify vs YouTube: Does the competition even exist?
YouTube has been by far the most used video-watching platform. Artists also generate earnings through YouTube. Spotify’s rollout of videos does give users an enhanced user experience and the ability to watch videos. Spotify users who also want to check the video of an artist won’t have to go to YouTube to watch it. But YouTube provides them with content for free.
So, it’s more like if the competitors are offering the same, why shouldn’t we even though the rollout took so many years.
The bigger caveat here is that the Spotify Music Video feature is only available for premium users in the USA and Canada.
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