Spotify adds Music Videos in 97 markets, plugs promotional value

Spotify has added music videos in 97 markets after an 11 market test as well as tools for Artists and features designed to enhance video discovery and the viewer experience.

The U.S. and Canada are not included in today’s rollout and Spotify has not shared when they will be. Find a full list of available markets here.

Spotify’s video expansion, YouTube , and the rise of TikTok, Reels and Shorts effectively make music videos a requirement for all releases.

“a powerful way to build connections”

Spotify insists that the additional time and expense of producing a video is worth it. “Music videos are a powerful way to build connections between artists and fans,” says Spotify alongside examples from Charli xcx, Danna Paola, FIREBOY DML, LISA, and Fontaines D.C. and stats to prove it:

• 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.
• songs discovered with music videos are 24% more likely to be saved or shared in the following week by those who watched it.

Full length music videos join other Spotify visual options including Canvas – 3 to 8 second looping visuals in Now Playing and Clips – short, vertical video messages on Home, Countdown, and release pages.

Spotify For Artists adds Video & Visuals tab

To make managing visuals easier, there is a new Video & Visuals tab in Spotify for Artists that includes all full length videos, Clips and Canvas upload to Spotify. There are also new music video analytics, including all-time video streams.

In the coming week, Artists will be able to set a music video as their Artist Pick to showcase it at the top of Spotify’s artist profile.

Improved Viewing

Spotify has also added features to improve fan viewing:

• Fans can discover new music videos on mobile and desktop with video indicators on tracks.
• Users can find the music video they’re looking for alongside its related track by typing the track or artist into search.
• Users can now switch between music tracks and videos with a single tap of a button on mobile and desktop.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.