Spotify has launched a new experiment, offering video tutorials to its UK users on topics such as music-making, creativity, business and healthy living. The new lessons show that Spotify is hoping to expand its reach beyond music, podcasts and audiobooks into a new fourth industry, but the launch is still in testing.
The videos are provided through partnerships with BBC Maestro, Skillshare, Thinkific and PlayVirtuoso and are available on Spotify's desktop and mobile apps. They can be found by clicking on a new oval icon at the top of the screen. Two lessons in each course are available for free to both free and premium subscribers, but to access a full course, users must exit the app and purchase additional courses on a dedicated webpage to continue. Spotify will receive a commission for anything sold through its platform, according to The lip.
“Trialing video courses in the UK allows us to explore an exciting opportunity to better serve the needs of our users who have an active interest in learning,” he said. Babar Zafarvp of product development at Spotify, in a suspension announcing the test. “Many of our users engage with podcasts and audiobooks on a daily basis for their learning needs, and we believe this highly engaged community will be interested in accessing and purchasing quality content from video course creators. At Spotify, we're constantly striving to create new offerings for our creators and users, and having built best-in-class personalized music and podcast offerings, we look forward to exploring the possibilities of video-based learning on Spotify.”
The post notes that about half of Spotify's premium subscribers have engaged in education or self-help podcasts.
Spotify didn't come back right away Billboard request more information on whether it plans to expand the trial to other markets, including the United States.
Daniel Ek, Spotify's CEO/founder, hinted at the company's interest in expanding into education nearly two years ago during the Spotify Investor Day presentation held on June 8, 2022. “We will firmly establish Spotify as the home for some of the greatest artists and creators and educators in the world,” he had said at the time. “I don't know of any other company that has been able to take a multi-business model and a multi-vertical approach to a single user experience.”
This test in the UK proves that Spotify is still looking for profitability and wants to expand its user base beyond what streaming music can offer. According to MIDiA Research, music streaming subscription growth is expected to slow from double-digit to single-digit rates over the next decade as the market matures. Moreover, margins from music streaming continue to be tight.
Alex Nostrom, Spotify's co-chairman/chief business officer, has also hinted at the company's educational focus in the past, saying at the 2022 investor day presentation: “Over the next 10 years, there are additional markets and industries that we believe are natural for the platform and our audience… There is news, sports and education. These are huge markets [that] we can imagine Spotify playing on… [All] they are large consumer markets, sometimes much larger than music… We have an opportunity to unify user habits and purchases on Spotify and also expand the pie by enabling broader and more convenient access to these new categories of content providers.”
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