{"id":2511515,"date":"2026-07-21T20:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2511515"},"modified":"2026-07-21T20:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T20:48:18","slug":"spotify-pushes-deeper-into-music-videos-with-new-chart-and-artist-pitching-stepping-up-its-challenge-to-youtube","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/spotify-pushes-deeper-into-music-videos-with-new-chart-and-artist-pitching-stepping-up-its-challenge-to-youtube\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotify pushes deeper into music videos with new chart and artist pitching, stepping up its challenge to YouTube"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Spotify [4,895 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/spotify\/\">Spotify<\/a><\/strong> has launched its first chart dedicated to music videos.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Music Video Charts Global<\/strong>, which went live on <strong>Tuesday (July 21)<\/strong>, ranks the <strong>top 50<\/strong> videos worldwide by daily stream count, according to the company.<\/p>\n<p>It arrives as <strong>Spotify<\/strong> also, for the first time, lets artists pitch their music videos directly to its editorial team for playlist consideration.<\/p>\n<p>Both features are part of an expansion of video across the platform, which now counts <strong>nearly 100,000<\/strong> artists in a beta that lets them upload full-length videos themselves.<\/p>\n<p>The chart sits within <strong>Spotify<\/strong>\u2018s Charts and Music Video Playlists hubs, and every <strong>Tuesday<\/strong> the company says it will spotlight the top 10 videos across its social channels.<\/p>\n<p>Video pitches work in the same way as <strong>Spotify<\/strong>\u2018s pitching tool for songs, with artists sharing a video\u2019s concept, mood and visual style for consideration on playlists including Best New Videos, Live Performances and Today\u2019s Top Videos.<\/p>\n<p>Only videos that are unreleased, or released within the past <strong>seven days<\/strong>, qualify, whether delivered by a label or distributor or uploaded through <strong>Spotify for Artists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> framed the expansion around data it says links watching a video to more streaming, not just more views.<\/p>\n<p>After watching a full-length video, listeners stream that song <strong>64%<\/strong> more over the following three weeks than fans who only heard the audio, the company said.<\/p>\n<p>They are also <strong>1.4 times<\/strong> more likely to save, share or add it to a playlist.<\/p>\n<p>Those listeners go on to stream the rest of an artist\u2019s catalog <strong>57%<\/strong> more over the same period, according to <strong>Spotify<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Listeners the company classes as \u201csuper listeners\u201d stream that artist <strong>62%<\/strong> more after watching a video.<\/p>\n<p>That \u201csuper listener\u201d lift equates to more than an hour and <strong>40 minutes<\/strong> of additional listening on average, the company said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat listening lift isn\u2019t accidental \u2013 it\u2019s the result of <strong>Spotify<\/strong> building video into the core of how music gets delivered, pitched, discovered, and measured,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Charlie Hellman<\/strong>, <strong>Spotify<\/strong>\u2018s Head of Music, said when the feature reached the <strong>US<\/strong> and <strong>Canada<\/strong> in <strong>December<\/strong> that music videos are \u201coften the moment when an artist\u2019s world really clicks for a listener \u2013 when the song and the visuals come together and turn a stream into fandom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> first <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-challenges-youtube-launching-music-videos-for-premium-users-in-11-markets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">launched full-length music videos in beta in March 2024<\/a>, across <strong>11 markets<\/strong> that did not include the <strong>US<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It expanded the test to <strong>85<\/strong> more countries in <strong>October 2024<\/strong>, before <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-expands-official-music-videos-to-the-us-and-canada-alongside-new-video-formats-like-live-performances-and-covers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bringing the feature to Premium users in the US and Canada in December 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Until <strong>June<\/strong>, those videos reached <strong>Spotify<\/strong> only through labels and distributors, or via <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; DistroKid [148 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/distrokid\/\">DistroKid<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s <strong>DistroVid<\/strong> service, which began carrying videos to the platform in <strong>June 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>That changed on <strong>June 17<\/strong>, when <strong>Spotify<\/strong> <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-opens-direct-uploads-for-music-videos-and-live-performances-in-beta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began letting artists in the beta upload live performances<\/a>, studio sessions, covers and official music videos themselves, all of which it says are royalty-bearing and may be chart-eligible.<\/p>\n<p>The rollout coincided with <strong>Spotify<\/strong> ending support for new uploads of <strong>Clips<\/strong>, its short-form video format, with the Clips tab on artist profiles set to become a Video tab over time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> has also leaned on video in podcasting, reporting in late <strong>2025<\/strong> that almost <strong>500,000<\/strong> video podcast shows were on the platform and that time spent with video content had more than doubled year-over-year.<\/p>\n<p>In <strong>October<\/strong>, it agreed a deal with <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Netflix [508 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/netflix\/\">Netflix<\/a><\/strong> to bring video versions of <strong>Spotify Studios<\/strong> and <strong>The Ringer<\/strong> podcasts to the streaming service from early <strong>2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The video expansion has run alongside licensing deals <strong>Spotify<\/strong> signed with <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Universal Music Group [4,797 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/universal-music-group\/\">Universal Music Group<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Sony Music Entertainment [2,216 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/sony\/sony-music-group\/sony-music-entertainment\/\">Sony Music<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Warner Music Group [3,732 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/access-industries\/warner-music-group\/\">Warner Music Group<\/a><\/strong> during <strong>2025<\/strong>, each of which referenced audiovisual content.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> also agreed an opt-in portal with the <strong>National Music Publishers\u2019 Association<\/strong> for expanded audiovisual rights in the <strong>US<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The push steps up <strong>Spotify<\/strong>\u2018s challenge to <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; YouTube [2,303 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/youtube\/\">YouTube<\/a><\/strong>, which has long dominated music video streaming globally.<\/p>\n<p><strong>YouTube<\/strong> offers official videos, live versions and covers alongside <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; YouTube Music [350 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/youtube\/youtube-music\/\">YouTube Music<\/a><\/strong>, which is bundled into <strong>YouTube Premium<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Apple Music [1,546 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/apple\/apple-music\/\">Apple Music<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"Companies &gt; Amazon Music [500 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/companies\/amazon\/amazon-music\/\">Amazon Music<\/a><\/strong> also carry music videos and high-resolution audio, while <strong>TikTok<\/strong> remains a rival for music discovery and for the listening time <strong>Spotify<\/strong> wants to keep inside its own app.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> is expanding video as it works to lift engagement and revenue per user across a base of <strong>761 million<\/strong> monthly active users.<\/p>\n<p>The company <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-subscriber-base-grew-by-3m-to-293m-in-q1-company-posted-837m-operating-profit-for-the-quarter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted record quarterly operating income of <strong>\u20ac715 million (USD $836.8 million)<\/strong> in Q1 2026<\/a>, on revenue of <strong>\u20ac4.533 billion<\/strong> that was up <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>14% year-over-year<\/strong> <\/span>at constant currency.<\/p>\n<p>Its Premium subscriber base grew by <span style=\"color: #008000;\"><strong>3 million<\/strong> <\/span>in the quarter to <strong>293 million<\/strong>, and its gross margin reached <strong>33%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>That growth has been fueled partly by price increases, including a <strong>US<\/strong> hike announced in <strong>January<\/strong> and effective from <strong>February<\/strong> that raised the individual Premium plan from <strong>$11.99<\/strong> to <strong>$12.99<\/strong> per month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> has tied video to the same strategy behind its push to segment listeners and charge superfans more.<\/p>\n<p>On an earnings call last year, co-founder <strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-relationship\" title=\"People &gt; Daniel Ek [608 articles]\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/people\/daniel-ek\/\">Daniel Ek<\/a><\/strong> said the company was \u201cgoing all in on [its] core and investing in more music experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink video, think the higher-priced <strong>Premium<\/strong> tier that we\u2019ve discussed previously and new ways to bring fans and artists closer together,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><em>Bloomberg<\/em> reported in February 2025 that <strong>Spotify<\/strong> was <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link-internal\" href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/spotify-to-launch-music-pro-service-with-superfan-perks-like-early-access-tickets-and-ai-remix-tool-for-up-to-5-99-more-per-month-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">weighing a \u201cMusic Pro\u201d add-on of up to <strong>$5.99<\/strong> a month<\/a>, bundling perks such as early access to concert tickets, higher-fidelity audio and AI-powered remixing, though the tier has yet to launch.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> has also pushed beyond music into audiobooks and video podcasts, and added a fitness hub with <strong>Peloton<\/strong> content in early 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Newer <strong>Spotify<\/strong> features, including lossless audio and priority ticket access for <strong>Premium<\/strong> users, have arrived without an extra charge, folded into the standard subscription instead.<\/p>\n<p>For <strong>Spotify<\/strong>, video is a way to increase the time users spend in the app and how often they return, supporting both retention and its case for charging more.<\/p>\n<p>Co-CEO <strong>Alex Norstr\u00f6m<\/strong> told analysts in April that \u201csince the global rollout of our more personalized free experience, users in key markets like the <strong>US<\/strong> are listening and watching more days per month.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Spotify<\/strong> reports its next set of results, for <strong>Q2 2026<\/strong>, on <strong>August 4<\/strong>.<span class=\"mb-article__stamp\">Music Business Worldwide<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicbusinessworldwide.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spotify has launched its first chart dedicated to music videos. The Music Video Charts Global, which went live on Tuesday (July 21), ranks the top 50 videos worldwide by daily stream count, according to the company. It arrives as Spotify also, for the first time, lets artists pitch their music videos directly to its editorial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2511516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25179],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2511515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Spotify-pushes-deeper-into-music-videos-with-new-chart-and.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511515"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2511517,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511515\/revisions\/2511517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2511516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2511515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}