It is a known fact that many competitors of TikTok tried copying its features. The one feature that most of them tried to imitate is the short-form video feed. The list includes likes of Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and even Netflix. Now a new name can be added to this list – Spotify. The music streaming company has confirmed that it has been testing a new video feature in the beta iOS app. The new feature is a TikTok-style video feed that plays full screen video clips and can be scrolled through. They will also have the option of like or skip. Chris Messina was the first to spot the new video feature. He shared the video of the feed while using it.
The video clearly shows that there is a new fourth tab through which users can access the feature when available. The new tab in the navigation bar has been labeled as \’Discover.\’ This has been added in between the Home and Search tabs. Describing the feature, Chris Messina said that it is a \”paired-down version\” of a TikTok style feed. While you can like the video as you scroll, there is a three-dot menu icon that will give users options each time they are playing a video or song.
Messina said the feature is available in Spotify\’s TestFlight build. The new icon will take users almost immediately to the video feed with just a tap. Once into the feed, users will be able to swipe up and down to move through the feed. Messina speculates that the streaming app may be taking advantage of its existing Canvas format. The format was introduced by Spotify in 2019. This allows artists using the app to create videos that can be accompanied by music present on the app. Users had given mixed reviews of the feature. While there were some who were not fans of the feature and were of the view that static album art is what they preferred while listening to music.
They also found the video and its looping imagery distracting. However, there were some users who seem to have liked the Canvas feature. No matter what, the feature did manage to drive the engagement metrics and that was something the company was aiming for. The company had said that Spotify users are more likely to keep streaming, share or save tracks while they are seeing a Canvas. It is clear from the video shared by Messina and others that can be viewed that the videos are being played are the artists\’ existing Canvas videos. However, the company has not commented on it. Spotify has also not shared any information related to when this feature might see a wider rollout.
Spotify has also not shared any information related to whether this feature will be available for both iOS and Android users and which markets the company is exploring at the moment. \”Spotify does conduct a number of tests and this is a routine. We do so in a bid to improve the experience of our users. While some of these tests serve as important learning, few of them are made available to our users. We do not have any further information to share at this time,\” a spokesperson of the company was quoted as saying. This clearly indicates that Spotify is testing this feature but it is rather in a very early stage. There are chances that the feature may not be made public. But if it did, this will be added to the list of new features that the company has added to increase user engagement. Also, this is not surprising as the company has taken inspiration from popular social media formats to attract new users and retain the existing ones.
Earlier, Spotify had tested a Stories feature that let influencers share Stories with their own, curated playlists. But the feature was not made available to a wider user base of the company. While several social media platforms adopted the TikTok format, it is proving to be an ideal format for content discovery. Spotify is testing the feature at a time when Netflix has adopted the short-form vertical video feed in the app. Netflix recently launched its \’Fast Laughs\’ feature. It offered users clip from the content library which can be selected and saved to a watch list.
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