Spotify begins rolling out music videos feature

While it appeared Spotify had laid its hat on short-form video, the music service will now begin to roll out full music videos on the app across the coming months.

Is this the beginning of the end for the looping Canvas videos everyone disables to save their battery life?

In a surprising pivot towards long-form video content, Spotify has rolled out an in-app feature that will allow users to watch full music videos. The beta is currently live in the UK, Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, the Netherlands, Colombia, Poland, the Philippines, and Sweden.

If your device has the update already, you’ll notice a ‘switch to video’ prompt pinned in the full-screen mode of a song alongside the album artwork, short-form video loop, lyrics, and artist information.

When selected, Spotify will open the music video using its own interface — not an embed from YouTube, Vevo, or anywhere else — meaning the streaming app is now directly going against established long-form platforms and search engines for views and engagement.