Spotify Testing TikTok-Like Vertical Video Feature

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The latest innovation from Spotify, the world’s most popular music streaming platform, has some users scratching their heads.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then TikTok must be feeling pretty good right now. The vertical video sharing platform has inspired virtually every major digital platform to copy its popular discovery video feed. The most glaring knockoff is Instagram Reels, which are often clips that first appeared on TikTok, but similar features exist on YouTube, Snapchat, and even Netflix. Everyone wants a piece of vertical video, it seems, and that list now includes Spotify.

Spotify has confirmed it’s currently testing a new feature in its app, Discover. It presents a vertical feed of music videos that users can scroll through and optionally like or skip. For those who have access to the feature, it appears as a fourth tab in the navigation bar at the bottom of the Spotify app, between Home and Search.

The existence of the Discover feature was first spotted by Twitter user Chris Messina, who also shared photos and videos of the new offering. 

Messina told TechCrunch he found the feature in Spotify’s TestFlight build (a beta version for iOS). A new icon in the navigation toolbar immediately brings you to the video feed when tapped. You can then swipe up and down to move through the feed like you would on TikTok. In addition to tapping the heart to like songs, you also can tap the three-dot menu to bring up the standard song information sheet, he notes.

First introduced in 2019, Canvas allows artists to add looping video clips to their music. The footage appears vertically while the song plays and can be up to 8 seconds in length. Spotify has claimed in the past that songs using Canvas have a higher engagement rate.

As a first step towards a complete embrace of video on its platform, Discover seems like a smart move for Spotify. By utilizing the existing database of Canvas clips to explore engagement opportunities and encourage more artists to add even more content to the platform, Spotify is poised to develop video features built with listener interest in mind faster than any of its competitors. The long-term plan remains unclear, but the company could eventually allow full-length videos and become something akin to a modern MTV — in addition to being the global leader in music streaming.

TechCrunch asked Spotify for further information on the feature, including whether it had plans to roll this out further, whether it was available on both iOS and Android, which markets had access to the feature, and more. The company declined to share any details about the feature but did confirm that it was exploring the idea of a vertical video feed via a statement.

“At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience, and others serve only as an important learning. We don’t have any further news to share at this time,” they added.

James Shotwell