Spotify is taking on the might of Google's YouTube by announcing support for full-screen music videos. However, the feature is currently in beta and only available to Spotify Premium subscribers, and can be accessed via the Now Playing screen.
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Explaining the reason behind the new feature, the company said in a blogpost, “Spotify is where fans go to dive deeper into an artist’s music. So whether you’re a superfan who wants to rewatch the videos you love and share them with friends, or a casual fan on the lookout for new releases, music videos create a new point of connection with artists."
The beta version of the Spotify app with the music videos feature rolled out in select markets yesterday with compatibility for a limited number of catalogue for music vidceos like hits from artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat and Ice Spice.
The new feature will be available on the Spotify premum users on the company's app on iOS, Android, PC and TV. The latest feature is curently available in limited markets like Netherlands, Poland, Swededn, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia and Kenya.
Explaining the reason behind the limited rollout, Spotify’s VP Global Head of Consumer Experience Sten Garmark told TechCrunch, “For this beta rollout, we chose these markets based on a number of criteria including market size and the availability of local content support … Stay tuned as we hope to expand the catalog of music videos and increase availability to more countries,"
1) Open the Spotify app on your Android, iOS, desktop or TV application
2) Make sure you have taken a Spotify premium subscription
3) Play a track and select the “Switch to Video" toggle on the supported music track which will prompt the music video to start playing from the beginning.
4) Users can also watch the video in full screen mode by turning the mobile device in landscape mode.