Among the most striking and different options of YouTube Music has always been the opportunity to just listen to music or watch the video clip of the same song. This was something that differentiated the platform from competitors like Spotify, but it’s over now.

Spotify welcomes music videos. The company announced a few months ago that it would start experimenting with artists’ music videos on a limited basis. The tests look extremely satisfactory because this option now reaches many more markets with its beta version. Especially 85 more. Interestingly, the US was not among the 11 countries where testing began and will not be now. Yes, for example Spain: The full list is available on the Spotify support website.

How to enjoy videos?. Any Spotify Premium subscriber in any of the 97 countries where beta options are available will be able to enjoy music videos. They can do this on both iOS and Android mobile applications, on PCs and on television.

Same process as YouTube Music. Like its rival, the music video will start playing from the “Now Playing” view. All you have to do is click the “Switch to video” button to see the video clip corresponding to the song you’re listening to… if it’s available, of course.

Phased rollout. The entire catalog doesn’t offer this possibility, and as Spotify explains, this option “begins rolling out in new markets today with a limited catalog of music videos.” We can return to sound mode at any time with the “Switch to sound” button. If we put the device in landscape mode, you can enjoy the videos in full screen on the mobile phone.

Videos are a powerful ally. Spotify highlights that “users who discover a song and then watch its music video on Spotify are 34% more likely to listen to that song again the following week.” Songs with an associated video also have a 24% greater chance of being saved or shared by users who see them. Popularized by MTV decades ago, the format has become a powerful (as well as creative) draw for music fans.

Spotify vs YouTube (Music) and TikTok. We’ve recently seen how Spotify is adding short TikTok-style videos called Clips, as well as short looping cinematics (Canvas) during playback, offering a new way for artists to connect with their audience. The arrival of music videos is definitive proof that on Spotify, audio has given way to video content, which has become the absolute leading actor in recent years.

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