Spotify branches out into video

As expected, audio streaming giant Spotify has officially made the leap into video by using it to augment its podcasting strategy.

This marks a major expansion of the Spotify business, which has got where it is today entirely on the back of its audio streaming service. Specifically that mainly meant music until recently, but when podcasting superstar Joe Rogan was persuaded to move exclusively to Spotify a couple of months ago, that signified a major new front in the streaming war.

Rogan has always published his podcasts on YouTube as well as audio platforms, so it was clear that Spotify would have to accommodate that format for him. Now it’s clear that video is a major new string to the Spotify bow for all its podcasts and maybe music in future.

Many podcast fans love watching their favourite podcasts as much as they enjoy listening to them,” says the Spotify announcement. “Through these visuals, fans can get to know their favourite podcast hosts even better, and creators can more deeply connect with their audiences. That’s why today, Spotify is unveiling the first version of our new video podcast feature with select podcasts. Now listeners in all markets where podcasts are supported will be able to listen to or watch those podcasts as the feature rolls out.”

The video feature will be made available across all membership tiers and will support background streaming – i.e. keeping going even when you use other apps – unlike YouTube, which charges extra for such a feature. This further investment in podcasting seems to indicate Spotify increasingly sees the format as key to the growth of the company, which is also great news for podcasters everywhere.