Abu Zar Mishwani
Spotify, a Swedish music streaming service, is introducing full music videos for select premium users in a trial phase, stepping into a space long dominated by YouTube.
Starting Wednesday, Spotify will offer music videos to premium users in the UK, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya, aiming to expand its user community.
Spotify’s goal of reaching 1 billion users by 2030 faces challenges from competitors like Apple Music and YouTube, where users can watch music videos for free.
Spotify’s launch will feature a “limited collection of music videos, including popular songs from global stars such as Ed Sheeran… and beloved tracks from local artists like Aluna,” the company announced.
Last March, Spotify introduced “clips,” brief vertical videos under 30 seconds, allowing artists to upload directly to the platform.
In its efforts to attract more users, the company has broadened its services to include podcasts and audiobooks.
In February, the company predicted that premium subscribers would reach 239 million in the current quarter, surpassing previous estimates of 238.3 million.
In January, Spotify announced that users in Europe would be able to purchase audiobooks and subscription plans directly within the music-streaming app starting in March due to new competition regulations for Big Tech in the region.
This step would enable the company to circumvent Apple’s 30 percent fee for transactions made through its App Store, a longstanding point of dispute between app developers and the tech giant.
For years, Spotify has been entangled in a legal dispute, claiming that it was compelled to increase the price of its monthly subscriptions to offset expenses related to Apple’s App Store regulations.