If you’ve been waiting since May 2015 when Spotify first announced it would be transforming itself from a solely-music streaming service to a podcast and video platform, your wait is soon to be over. Spotify has announced that it would finally be launching video content on its Android app this week, followed by the iOS next week, in the U.K, Sweden, Germany and the U.S.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the video service currently consists of mainly short clips with a few content providers like Tastemade, also developing original, music-themed series exclusively for the platform.
The company also says that although it would be paying its partners to license their content, it won’t be launching its video service with advertising. Spotify’s vice president of product, Shiva Rajaraman said that the video content is about “giving music fans what they want,” and that the company — despite not being profitable — isn’t worried about making money off the service right now.
Although we’re not sure what content will be available when the service is launched, we think you can make some safe guesses based on the line up of partners the company announced last year, including MTV, Comedy Central, E!, and NBC.
Considering that Spotify is mainly a music streaming service that provides music that mostly plays only in the background, the company understands it’s got an uphill task to help its users get used to watching video on the app. “Obviously our primary user is a music fan, and they are not necessarily leaning in and looking into the app,” Rajaraman told the WSJ. “So there are no particular recipes for how to get this right” He said.
Should Youtube, Snapchat and Facebook be worried about this development? May be yes or may be no, or may be only time will tell. #fingerscrossed