Spotify has begun rolling out a beta feature that allows artists to upload full-length music videos directly through its Spotify for Artists dashboard, bypassing the need for a label or distributor. The move intensifies the platform’s competition with YouTube in the long-form music video space, while offering artists new ways to engage fans and earn royalties.
What Artists Can Upload
The beta enables musicians to submit a range of video content tied to specific songs or releases, including:
- Official music videos
- Live performances
- Acoustic or studio sessions
- Covers
Labels and distributors have had the ability to upload such videos for more than a year, but the new direct upload option removes that intermediary step. Spotify is not accepting visualizers, lyric videos, multi-song concerts, or videos without music as part of this initial rollout.
Engagement and Royalty Incentives
According to Spotify, fans who watch a video are 64% more likely to stream that song over the following three weeks on average, and they stream the artist’s entire catalog 57% more during the same period. Full-length music videos on the platform are royalty-bearing and may qualify for chart eligibility.
Where Videos Appear
Once approved, uploaded videos can surface in several areas across Spotify:
- Videos For You, the platform’s first personalized video playlist
- Editorial video playlists such as Today’s Top Videos, Live Performances, and Video Covers
- The Video tab on the artist’s profile
- Home, release pages, and the Now Playing view
- Fan push notifications
Clips Transition
As part of this video strategy shift, Spotify will stop supporting new Clips uploads. The existing Clips tab on artist profiles will be replaced by the Video tab, which will house both newly uploaded music videos and any previously uploaded Clips.
The Video Uploads feature is not yet available to all artists. Interested musicians can join a waitlist through Spotify for Artists.
