Swedish music streaming giant Spotify is launching full-length music videos in a limited beta release for its premium subscribers, stepping into a domain that YouTube has dominated for nearly two decades.
The availability of music videos will be extended to premium users in select countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya, as part of the beta launch starting Wednesday. However, the timing of its introduction to the MENA region remains unclear.
With an ambitious goal of reaching 1 billion users by 2030, Spotify aims to expand its user base through this new initiative. However, it faces stiff competition from rivals like Apple Music and Alphabet's YouTube, which offer free access to music videos.
Spotify's roll-out will feature a "limited catalog of music videos, including hits from global artists like Ed Sheeran... or local favorites like Aluna," the company stated.
Last March, Spotify introduced "clips," which are under-30-second vertical videos directly uploaded by artists onto the platform.
In addition to music videos, Spotify has been diversifying its content offerings by incorporating podcasts and audiobooks in an effort to attract more users.
In February, the company projected that its premium subscribers would surpass 239 million in the current quarter, exceeding earlier estimates of 238.3 million.