Spotify is introducing full-length music videos to its service for all of its premium subscribers in the US and Canada, copying a feature it tested internationally but creating new pressure for rivals who already mash up video and audio. The experience beams across iOS, Android, desktop and TV apps, and it’s super integrated: if you tap Switch to Video when a track is playing, the video takes over from the current timestamp.
The shift mirrors the manner in which music is already consumed for many fans. Overall, video platforms continue to be the primary format for discovery and consumption of songs, with YouTube promoting over 2 billion logged-in users consuming music content every month, while industry organizations such as IFPI have also highlighted video’s prominence on a global scale. In natively incorporating official videos, Spotify is closing the loop between discovery, viewing and repeat listening within a single subscription.
How Do Listeners Participate in Spotify’s Videos?
If a track supports video, the Now Playing screen will feature a Switch to Video button. Tap on it, and the video will supplant the Canvas loop, picking up exactly where the audio left off. You can flip back any time with Switch to Audio. On phones, videos are full-screen in landscape; TVs and desktop offer a familiar lean-back view.
Spotify says US and Canadian users will soon receive curated video-first playlists that span genres and eras like ’90s Video Hits, Hip-Hop Throwbacks, Latin Party Hits, Country and Pop. Look for personal video rows on the Home tab as the catalog fills out and viewing behavior influences recommendations.
Why Spotify Is Getting Into Music Video Streaming
This is playing with the big boys. YouTube and Apple Music have long offered official music videos, while TikTok has transformed how songs break. Spotify’s answer will be to integrate more visual storytelling into the core product, following experiments with Canvas loops, clips and full video podcasts. The company finished 2024 with almost 240 million Premium subscribers worldwide, and the addition of high-intent video will mean those users have one less reason to defect to a competitor when they’re in the mood for watching, not just listening.
There’s also a retention and monetization play. Visual formats tend to increase session time and shares, which are leading indicators of low churn. The living-room footprint is at stake, too: TV apps transform Spotify from a background audio service to a couch-ready music video channel vying for attention on the same screen where YouTube has typically been dominant.
Licensing and Royalties Under the Hood for Videos
There’s a different rights stack that music videos need compared with audio-only streams. In the US, that has tended to involve “audiovisual” rights controlled by publishers and labels that are separate from those for master (digital) and mechanical (streaming) audio. The news comes after Spotify announced it was increasing the scope of its collaboration with the NMPA in a direct licensing portal for publishers and songwriters to exercise an option to license AV rights on a platform basis in the US.
Spotify also signed AV-inclusive licenses with major label groups Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group throughout the year. Though the company is not disclosing catalog totals or deal terms, it says that video plays of at least 30 seconds will be monitored and counted for their royalties, matching audio’s reporting thresholds. That’s important for creators who hope for a clear sense of how views translate into payouts.
What Artists and Labels Can Expect From Spotify Videos
From launch, the selection may be tilted toward frontline and high-velocity catalog where rights are cleared earliest, with deeper back-catalog titles arriving over time as AV permissions clear. Editorially programmed video playlists and Home recommendations provide new shelf space for videos to break — particularly beneficial to genres like pop, hip-hop, Latin and country where visual storytelling sparks fan connections.
For individual creators and publishers, the NMPA-aligned opt-in pathway could provide an efficient on-ramp to a large audience without locking distribution into video-only platforms. The trade-off is that, unlike open platforms, Spotify’s video tier is gated to paying users in North America — possibly concentrating views but making them more valuable if engagement skyrockets amongst subscribers.
North America First, But Not Alone in Rollout
And in addition to the US- and Canada-based launch, Spotify is expanding to several more countries across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa at various tiers of access. Crucially, videos are available on the free tier too in beta markets like Brazil and Colombia — a test that could then shape a wider freemium strategy if ad-supported demand appears strong.
For now, the North American introduction stakes a competitive marker in the ground. If Spotify can keep people inside its app both for listening and for watching (and pay rights holders reasonably), it bolsters the case that it’s the default home of fandom. The next challenge will be catalog depth, editorial curation and how well video can complement rather than distract from the music experience subscribers are already paying for.
