Tag: music videos

2024 Wrapped Is Here! Experience Your Year in Listening Like Never Before

December 4, 2024

There’s nothing quite like the joy of looking back at what soundtracked your year. That’s where the Spotify Wrapped experience comes in, offering fans a personalized recap of their year in listening packed with immersive features.

Think of 2024 Spotify Wrapped as a celebration of the fans, artists, and creators who made this such an amazing year. We’re giving fans even more ways to indulge in what they love, from showing them how their taste in music evolved throughout the year to special messages from their favorite artists and podcasters.

More than ever, Wrapped is everywhere on Spotify—a massive effort showcasing the hard work and creativity involving hundreds of Spotify team members each year. New this year, fans can uncover more listening insights dotted across the Spotify experience. The “share” functionality for music and podcasts on Spotify has been given a Wrapped spin. By tapping “share,” Spotify will reveal whether the content you’re streaming stacks up in your top 100 songs, top 20 artists, or top five podcasts.

And reminder: Make sure your Spotify iOS or Android app is up-to-date to get your own 2024 Wrapped. You can access the experience via the Wrapped feed on your Home screen, which serves as your one-stop spot for all things Wrapped.

Fresh ways to celebrate your year on Spotify

As you relive the artists, songs, albums, and podcasts that made this year truly special, look out for some new and returning features in this year’s personalized experience for eligible users:

    • Your Music Evolution: Your tastes and moods change throughout the year—and so does the music you listen to. This new data story reveals the musical phases that uniquely defined your year. You may receive up to three musical phases, which will be displayed with descriptors, genres, and artists.
    • Your Music Evolution Playlist: Your Music Evolution will also come to life in a personalized playlist that can be found in the Wrapped feed on Home. Tracks within the playlist include both familiar favorites and new songs we think you’ll love—all related to your musical phases throughout the year.
    • Your Top Artist Reimagined: You will now get to see the artist you enjoyed most this year with “Longest Listening Streak,” plus the fan favorite “Top Listeners,” which reveals what percentage of listeners you’re in for your favorite artist.
    • Your Music Videos Playlist: In markets where music videos in beta are available, Premium users will receive a personalized playlist that brings together music videos from your most-loved artists of this year.
    • Your Artist Clips: Loyal fans will get to hear directly from some of their top artists within the Wrapped experience. Clips will include artists like Peso Pluma, ROSÉ, Billie Eilish, USHER, Sabrina Carpenter, KAROL G, and thousands more.
    • Your Podcaster Clips: You’ll also be able to enjoy short messages from some of your favorite podcast creators, including the ones behind shows like Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain, Crime Junkie, Distractible, Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, and more.
    • More Editorial Playlists & Insights: Curated by Spotify’s music editors, users can find more curated playlists in their Wrapped hubs, which include insights that contextualize and spotlight the biggest stories in music and culture in 2024.

Music Videos in Beta Brings an Improved Viewing Experience to New Markets

October 15, 2024

Earlier this year, Spotify introduced music videos in beta, giving Premium subscribers in 12 markets another way to connect with the songs and artists they love. Today we are starting to roll out that offering across 85 additional markets, giving even more Premium subscribers the opportunity to dive into the visual worlds of artists like Charli xcx, LISA, Fontaines D.C., Nick Ward, Anirudh Ravichander, and Fireboy DML. 

Music videos are a powerful way to build connections between artists and fans. In fact, users who discover a song and then watch the music video on Spotify are 34% more likely on average to stream the song again the following week.* And on average, songs discovered with music videos are 24% more likely to be saved or shared in the following week by those who watched. 

Music videos help immerse fans in the experience—whether they’re listening to a new song or revisiting an old favorite. As part of this expansion, Spotify is also adding new features to make the music videos in beta experience even better. These include:

  • Fans can easily find and discover new music videos to watch (on mobile and desktop) with video indicators on tracks.
  • Users can also more easily find the music video they’re looking for alongside its related track by typing the track or artist into search.

In addition, users will now have the option to seamlessly switch between music tracks and videos with a single tap of a button (on mobile and desktop).

Want to give it a try? Here’s how it works:

  • If you’re a Premium subscriber in one of our 97 beta markets, open Spotify on your iOS, Android, desktop, or TV device and tap the “Switch to video” button for music tracks with video. 
  • The music video will start playing within the Now Playing view, picking up right where you left off.
  • If you want to return to background listening, simply press “Switch to audio” to head back to the music track.
  • You can even watch the music video in full screen by turning your mobile device to watch in landscape mode.

The beta version of music videos on Spotify is starting to roll out in new markets today with a limited catalog of music videos — and will continue rolling out over the next few weeks. We’re always working to build lasting connections between artists and fans, adding features like Countdown Pages, Canvas, Clips from your artists, Artist Profiles, Live Events, and Merch to deliver a rich music listening experience. And for Premium subscribers, music videos in beta—along with offerings like DJ, Jam, and AI Playlist—is yet another way we’re making that experience even richer. 

Stay tuned, as we hope to expand the catalog of music videos, share new places for you to watch them, and take the feature to more users and markets.

 

*Than users who discover the song but do not watch the music video.

250,000 Video Podcasts and Counting: Creators and Audiences Are Embracing Video Content on Spotify

June 28, 2024

As one of the most powerful forms of human expression today, video ​​is becoming core to the global Spotify experience. We have been steadily investing in the format to connect creators and fans in new, deeper ways on our platform, from the recent launch of music videos in beta to testing video-based learning courses in the U.K. But the medium has seen the most growth in the podcasting space, where video is truly changing the game—in fact, more than 170 million users have watched a video podcast on Spotify.

Spotify introduced video podcasts for a select number of shows in 2020, and we’ve since made the format available for creators in nearly every market. We recently made it possible for non-hosted podcast creators to upload video to Spotify for the first time, opening up yet another avenue for their engagement and success.

All the while, video podcasts have been growing in popularity, with creators around the world leaning into the format to deepen engagement with their fans. More than half of the top 20 podcasts on Spotify have video, including heavy hitters like The Joe Rogan Experience and Call Her Daddy. The format is resonating with audiences, who want to be able to choose how to engage with their favorite content. Globally on Spotify, the average daily streams of video podcasts have increased by more than 39% year-over-year. In the U.S., nearly two-thirds of podcast listeners say they prefer shows with video, according to a recent Cumulus Media survey.

“Spotify is always evolving to better serve our users and drive success for creators,” said Jordan Newman, Head of Content Partnerships at Spotify. “With podcasts, the video format can add an additional layer of authenticity and connection for fans. That’s why we continue to hear that audiences want the ability to not only listen, but also watch their favorite shows. And we see that in the data: Audience retention increases when creators add video—and every creator wants a loyal, highly engaged fan base that keeps coming back.”

“We continue to see demand for video from both creators and their audiences,” Newman continued. “The number of creators publishing video each month keeps growing, and more and more of our users are watching. As demand continues to rise, we will keep enhancing our video capabilities.”

The rise of video content on Spotify

Globally, video consumption hours on Spotify have grown faster than audio-only consumption hours year-over-year, and audiences retain video podcasts at higher rates than audio podcasts. But what exactly does that growth look like? During VidCon 2024 this week, Spotify revealed new stats around the popularity of video as a medium on our platform.

  • There are now more than 250,000 video podcast shows on Spotify—up from 100,000 in 2023.
  • More than 170 million users have watched a video podcast on Spotify.
  • More than 70% of users consuming video podcasts watch them in the foreground. 
  • On Spotify, nearly 1 in 3 U.S. podcast monthly active users (MAUs) engage with video, while nearly 1 in 4 global podcast MAUs engage with video. Globally, the number of video podcast MAUs has grown by 40% year-over-year.
  • The number of creators actively publishing video each month has grown nearly 70% year-over-year.
  • The largest markets by creators publishing video are the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico.
  • In Brazil and the Philippines, roughly 20% of all monthly active podcast creators are publishing video. This share has nearly doubled since last year.
  • At the market level, especially in Chile and Brazil, we are seeing video grow its share of total podcast consumption hours. In Chile, video hours make up a quarter of total podcast consumption hours. In Brazil, video hours make up more than 15% of total podcast consumption hours.

For creators on Spotify, video offers a huge opportunity to deliver content to new global audiences. For the Record spoke with Jon Youshaei, host of the popular weekly podcast Created with Jon Youshaei, about the medium and its impact.

What are the benefits of video for creators?

Video has been our edge, especially when it comes to our intros. A lot of viewers comment on how our podcast intros feel like mini movie trailers. We spend a lot of time picking the right sound bites, using sound design, and adding graphics to draw you in. During the actual interview, we create a lot of custom visuals, which often get shared on social media afterwards to help draw even more people back to our Spotify page.

What are some of the content trends you’re seeing right now?

We’re living in the super-long-form era. The pendulum is swinging from short form back to longer viewing sessions as creators start to rival traditional Hollywood shows when it comes to consumption. Video plays a huge role in this, especially as more people start to watch creator content on their TVs.

You’ve been called “The Creators’ Creator.” What words of wisdom do you have for aspiring video content creators?

There are three phases to the creator journey: Upload, upgrade, and upscale. If you’re starting out, just focus on uploading. Get your reps in. Learn the craft. After that, it’s time to start upgrading your gear: Get a better microphone, camera, and think more about your production quality. After that, it’s important to upscale your team, hire, and create processes to sustain your business. Most creators get overwhelmed because they try to upgrade before they upload. Or they think they have to upscale their team on day one. The order of the phases—and what you do during each phase—matters a lot.

How have Spotify’s different creator tools and resources helped you?

Spotify has been essential to building our show—and the community around it. One of my favorite features is the audience polling. We use it to ask whom we should interview next, get insights on episodes, or ask for feedback. Spotify has also been helpful in providing the support and analytics so we can double down on what’s working.

At Spotify, we’re committed to building the best podcast and video tools for creators to make great content, find new audiences, and grow. To that end, our Spotify for Podcasters platform will host a video-related Masterclass on July 25. Led by Jordan, it will feature two masters of the video format: Colin and Samir, cohosts of The Colin and Samir Show. Click here to register.

Music Videos Rolling Out in Beta to Premium Spotify Users Across Select Markets

March 13, 2024

In the early neon-infused ’80s, music videos burst onto TV screens, turning some of the most beloved songs into visual experiences that redefined the way fans connected with artists around the world. Since then, not only have music videos become one of the many ways that fans discover and fall in love with artists, but iconic videos have become part of pop culture, igniting conversations and influencing style.

They’re a powerful way for fans to discover and connect with music, and a natural fit to live on Spotify. That’s why we’re excited to launch music videos in beta for Spotify Premium users across 11 markets, adding another way to enhance the artist-to-fan connection. 

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.

“So many times in my own experience and for countless others, music videos play a key role in hooking you: taking you from being a listener to leaning in and becoming a fan,” says Charlie Hellman, Vice President and Head of Music Product at Spotify. “They’re an important part of so many artists’ tool kits, and it’s a natural fit for them to live in the same place that more than half a billion people choose to listen to music.”

Through Spotify features like Canvas, Clips, Artist Bios, Live Events, and Merch, artists are able to connect with new fans and loyal listeners in meaningful ways. Canvas visuals in particular have been shown to drive engagement, with users sharing, saving, or adding songs to playlists at a higher rate.

The beta version of music videos on Spotify begins rolling out today with a limited catalog of music videos, including hits from global artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice, or local favorites like Aluna and Asake.

 

How to watch music videos on Spotify: 

  • We’ll begin to roll out music videos from a select catalog for Premium users in the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Brazil, Colombia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Kenya. 
  • Premium listeners in those markets can head to their iOS, Android, desktop, or TV device and select the “Switch to Video” toggle for supported music tracks. Then, the music video will start playing from the beginning within the Now Playing view. 
  • Want to return to background listening? Simply press “Switch to Audio.”.
  • You can even watch the music video in full screen by turning your mobile device to watch in landscape mode.

In this beta launch, we’ll continue to innovate and iterate based on feedback from both users and artists. Stay tuned as we hope to expand the catalog of music videos and bring the feature to more users and countries. 

*Update as of May 28, 2024: Music videos in beta is now available in Egypt.