Spotify unveils an update to rule them all with videos, podcasts, running
Spotify yesterday announced an ambitious update to its platform that will see the company integrate videos and podcasts for the first time, will create an improved mood and activity-based experience and will match the right songs to your pace when you run.
The update will roll out to users in the UK, US, Sweden and Germany in the “near future”.
First things first, videos are perhaps the biggest news and Spotify has managed to close deals with the likes of the BBC, ESPN, Comedy Central, Adult Swim, ABC, NBC, Vice Media to provide the service with ‘clips’ that will enable users to stay on top of the latest news and be entertained throughout the day. The company found out its users wanted to mix up their media and the integration of videos is one way to enable them to do just that.
In addition, and perhaps most significantly, Spotify has announced the integration of podcasts into the platform. If the news sounds familiar, it’s because competitor Deezer just announced the same feature a couple of days ago following its acquisition of Stitcher. Spotify hasn’t acquired a podcast aggregator, but the news could make a big difference both to users - who will not have to juggle a music app and a podcasting app - as well as to podcasters - who may see their listening numbers jump. There are not details as of yet on whether the app will be able to notify you when a new podcast is uploaded and how caching may work.
An interesting question mark is whether the company is going to pay podcasts at all for being on the service. A BBC article mentions that the corporation is going to trial providing overseas Spotify users with 50 speech-only podcasts and is hoping to ‘generate income for the BBC to reinvest in programmes for license fee payers as well as reaching new audiences across the globe’. This suggests the BBC is being paid for providing the podcasts, but what that payment might be and how many podcasters will be elegible is likely to remain a question mark for some time.
Spotify also made an important announcement for runners with the introduction of a new technology that will enable the Spotify app to read the data from your phone’s accelerometer and use it to find music that matches your tastes and also your pace.
On the music selection front, the company wants to become a reference point for users 24/7, by enabling a ’start page' that will change depending on a user’s mood and activity. Spotify already provides pre-made playlists based on different activities and mood, but the new version should be more proactive and responsive.
For a company that has always moved incrementally, announcing a big plan and then bringing features in step by step over the course of a year, this represents a huge leap especially given the number of users the company now reaches.
Even though the exact release of the update is unknown - a week, a month, three months? - users are now sure to stick around to see what the fuss is all about. Which is probably the reason for the announcement all along even before Spotify was actually ready for the roll-out. After all, Apple’s keynote allegedly announcing its streaming service is just a couple of weeks away.
(Andrea Leonelli)