Music-streaming service Spotify will add video content to attract more advertising revenue. The service has also expanding to include podcasts, news radio and other features.
For the first time, Spotify is adding video clips and audio shows to the music mix. The service will suggest video and audio shows for users to watch.
The service is also debuting original content. For instance, the Running Originals is music specifically designed for running that dynamically adapts to a person's running tempo. A total of six original tracks, all found within Spotify Running, are available at launch. Spotify will also introduce a range of exclusive content, from Dance Move of the Day produced by Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls brand, to specially curated radio shows presented by artists including Icona Pop, Jungle and Tyler the Creator.
Spotify will come packed with entertainment, news and clips from the likes of ABC, BBC, Comedy Central, Condé Nast Entertainment, ESPN, Fusion, Maker Studios, NBC, TED and Vice Media.
An updated Now start page serves users the right music day and night. For instance, users can enjoy a Monday morning playlist pick-me-up or the right tunes to help them focus after lunch. And Now learns what users like, so recommendations will adapt over time to fit tastes and moods.
Music is the perfect running companion. potify Running is all about helping users go the extra mile. Spotify will offer recommendations based on a user's listening history, multiple-genre playlists and original running compositions written by DJs and composers – all tuned to the runner's tempo.
This summer, Spotify is also teaming up with Nike to bring new music to their audiences around the globe. And later this year, users be able to access the new Spotify Running experience through the Nike+ app. We’re also integrating the RunKeeper app with Spotify Running later this year.
"We’re bringing you a deeper, richer, more immersive Spotify experience," says Daniel Ek, Founder and CEO at Spotify. "We want Spotify to help soundtrack your life by offering an even wider world of entertainment with an awesome mix of the best music, podcasts and video delivered to you throughout your day. And we’re just getting started."
The new Now experience will begin rolling out today to iPhone users in the US, UK, Germany and Sweden – with more markets and platforms to follow in the near future. Spotify Running will start rolling out to iPhone users globally.
Among all these annoucnements, the introduction of the video content to the music streaming service is the most important, as it may accelerate Spotify's advertising growth. Facebook has also expanded its use of video, as have have Twitter and other popular publishers.
Most of Spotify’s more than 60 million users around the world listen to its free, advertising-supported music-streaming service. The company makes most of its money from subscriptions, which cost $9.99 a month in the U.S. It has more than 15 million paying customers.
Spotify's update comes at a period where the company is facing increased competition. Apple is about the unveil a new subscription streaming service using some of the technology it acquired in its $3 billion deal for Beats Electronics and YouTube is plotting a subscription video product.
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