In a significant product evolution, Spotify has announced the release of its Video Podcasts product from testing, making it available to all creators in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. “Creators will have the ability to upload their video content to Spotify through Anchor as easily as they already publish audio,” the company states.
This is a mature launch, startlingly packed with features helpful in production, monetization, audience engagement, and analytics:
- Podcast Subscriptions: Spotify Podcast Subscriptions will be available for video podcasts, empowering creators to own their monetization models by creating exclusive content, gating video, and more. Stay tuned—we’re working on more monetization features to come soon.
- Integration with Riverside: Today we’re also kicking off a partnership with Riverside, the go-to platform for remote recording. The integration enables creators to record and publish video content for free with Riverside with a quick distribution path to Spotify via Anchor.
- Embeddable video: Now, when you embed a Video Podcast episode from Spotify, the video will play directly in the embed player wherever you placed it. It’s a great tool—whether you’re excited to share great content with friends or grow your audience.
- Video Bulk-Replace: Bulk-replace allows Anchor creators to easily replace their existing audio episodes with video versions from an easy-to-use interface. Get ready for more time creating content and less time editing it.
- Video Analytics: Video-specific analytics will give creators deep insights into their videos’ performance on Spotify, enabling them to better understand their audiences and publish content suited to them.
- Interactive capabilities: Our interactive podcast features, like Polls and Q&A, will be available for Video Podcasts so creators can connect with and get feedback directly from their listeners.
The ambitions here for Spotify are clear. By deepening the platform’s non-music content, Spotify continues to magnetize time spent away from royalty-expensive music streaming. At the same time, Spotify is putting a competitive stake in the ground opposite YouTube; the closing statement in an announcement video (below) says: “Video Podcasts on Spotify are your new home for video.”
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