Spotify's next conquest: streaming video
The global music service Spotify announced that it is adding streaming video to complement the music catalog for which the company has made its name
NEW YORK — Spotify is moving into YouTube territory.
The global music service announced that it is adding streaming video to complement the music catalog for which the company has made its name.
During a press event unveiling the new feature in Manhattan, Spotify played clips from VICE News, the Nerdist and Comedy Central's Broad City. Spotify is adding audio podcasts as well.
The company also said it would be offering content from BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS Radio, ESPN, TED and Slate, among others.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's stated goal is to "soundtrack your entire life." Along those lines, Spotify will offer members listening suggestions based on time of day and what you're doing. During early morning, for example, you might hear songs to "wake up happy" or for "singing in the shower."
"We're in the early stages of this profound change in how people listen to music," Ek says.
The move into video comes at a crucial time for Spotify, especially as competition in streaming music is blistering hot and only going to get more so, with Apple and Beats expected to launch a streaming music service in June.
Spotify of late has been getting scorched by some of the most popular mainstream artists. Taylor Swift removed her entire catalog the last year because she felt she wasn't getting compensated fairly by the streaming service. Meanwhile, Jay Z is taking on Spotify through the rival Tidal music startup.
It's not likely to be much easier in video where there's also a lot of competition. There's not only Google to contend with via YouTube, but potentially the likes of Netflix.
Ek dismisses the idea that Spotify is targeting YouTube. "It's really more complementary to the music experience," he says.
Spotify's CEO says adding weather, traffic and selected podcasts benefits the company in a couple of ways. "What we're finding is by introducing these other forms of content to Spotify we think that not only are we broadening our appeal, but we will get people to spend more time with music as well."
As for fierce competition, Ek doesn't believe this a zero sum game. "The part most people miss is that this is a growing space. We're talking about a marketplace in the billions and billions which of course attracts the Apples and Googles and all the other giant corporations that have world domination thoughts."
eMarketer senior analyst Paul Verna says a "a digital video service from Spotify is a logical extension of the company's success in digital music streaming, since these are complementary businesses that use much of the same technology infrastructure, marketing expertise, and vendor relationships. Beyond these natural affinities, the move suggests that Spotify sees a business opportunity in digital video advertising, which is a much larger and faster-growing sector than Spotify's core business of digital music."
Ek took the high road when USA TODAY asked about Jay Z and Taylor Swift.
"Jay Z also wants to make a mark in the industry and make it better and fairer for all the artists. I have nothing against him (and) think what he is doing is great. I think it will raise a lot of awareness for the space. We certainly found that when (Tidal) launched, Spotify has grown faster than before. Just like we found with Taylor Swift when she put an issue on us. Not a lot of people knew about Spotify (in the middle of the U.S.). After Taylor Swift, they all of a sudden did."
Ek says he hopes Swift's music will return to Spotify at some point. Jay Z's music remains in the Spotify catalog.
This has already been a busy time for Spotify. Earlier this week, Spotify teamed up with Starbucks to bring curated Spotify playlists to Starbucks stores.
Spotify has 60 million customers, 15 million of whom are premium subscribers. The company says it has streamed 25 billion hours of music since its launch seven years ago.