Spotify to launch video service on Android

PanARMENIAN.Net - Spotify AB is finally rolling out its video product to the masses, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Swedish music-streaming service is planning to introduce video content on its Android app starting this week, followed by the iOS app by the end of next week in the U.S., the UK, Germany and Sweden, the company said. Spotify had originally announced the plans to begin distributing videos and podcasts in May, with a lineup of traditional and digital content providers that included ESPN, Comedy Central, the BBC, Vice Media and Maker Studios.

Spotify has been gradually testing video on its apps over the past several months with less than 10% of its users in the four launch markets, said Shiva Rajaraman, Spotify’s vice president of product. The content mostly consists of short clips (think snippets from “ Jimmy Kimmel Live”), though some companies, like Tastemade, are also developing original, music-themed series specifically for Spotify.

While some media partners have privately grumbled about the video product being delayed and Spotify moving slowly on the rollout, Rajaraman said this launch timing was part of the plan.

“We are at the end of a journey of testing,” he said. “We are going out effectively as planned. Our goal was largely to get a wide breadth of content and experiment and test.”