Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:
Spotify gets animated with first original video: Spotify had promised original video content, and that has now emerged. The company is releasing an animated series about different music genres called Deconstructed. The first episode colorfully relates the history of EDM. Spotify also has another dozen original video programs currently in the works.
Interview with the hip-hop curator: Billboard interviewed Tuma Basa, global programming head of hip-hop at Spotify, about his work in curation and the impact of playlist placement on up-and-coming artists. “When you go on Rap Caviar, you trust it — almost like Walter Cronkite on the evening news,” Basa said, highlighting one of the streaming platform’s most popular in-house collections.
New gaming playlists: Finally, Spotify has added a new Gaming section to its Genres & Moods hub. The tab highlights video game soundtracks and includes guest playlists from individuals such as streamer/commentator Day9 and publications including Polygon and GamesRadar+. And of course, there’s a Pokemon playlist in there too.