Music streaming platform, Spotify, has announced it is officially adding music videos to its mobile and desktop apps in some markets.
Charlie Hellman, Vice President and Head of Music Products at Spotify, announced this in a release on its official website on Wednesday.
According to the audio streaming service, the functionality is now only available in 11 markets as a “limited catalogue” in a “beta” version.
The entire list of nations where music videos will be available as of right now are Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland, Philippines, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
When a supported track is playing, you can access the music video function by tapping the “Switch to Video” icon that appears above the song title on the Now Playing screen.
If you tap it, the song will resume and the music video will appear in the centre of the screen.
To play the music video fullscreen on an iOS or Android smartphone, rotate it.
Then, press “Switch to Audio” to go back to the more conventional Now Playing display.
Spotify isn’t only collaborating with a third party or embedding a YouTube video for this feature.
The videos are being directly hosted by the company and are being provided to its viewers without any advertisements.
“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 Hellman.
The company did not specify royalties when music is streamed in video format as opposed to audio.
“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 favourites like Aluna and Asake,” the company stated.