Spotify Gets on with the Trend by Adding Video Stories Feature

Spotify unveiled a test run on its Stories-like feature to go with some of its playlists sometime after Thanksgiving. Its own version of Stories was reportedly launched to accompany the app’s Christmas playlist, tapping select artists to talk about their favorite yuletide memory.

Some of the artists that have partnered with Spotify for this video format feature include the likes of Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor, and Pentatonix.

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According to The Verge, the new Stories feature, largely inspired by Snapchat and Instagram, leverages a number of short video clips in succession. This allows the artists to share their personal memories about festivities and the holiday season, as well as shed insight into their songwriting process.

Spotify Video Stories Feature

Tapping on a playlist from the streaming service will bring up a series of bubbles or short video clips, all of which can be found above the playlist in question. Individuals who have access to this may either tap left or right to skip or watch the collection of clips again. It is available for both Android and iOS users.

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Apart from the holiday playlist, The Verge states this new video format can also be seen on the Tear Drop emo rap playlist as well as Megan Thee Stallion’s album called Good News.

In a statement obtained by Engadget from Spotify, a representative from the music streaming app said that it “routinely conduct[s] a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience.”

“Some of those tests end up paving the path for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We have no further news to share on future plans at this time,” said the Spotify representative to Engadget.

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Prior to rolling out the Stories format, the music streaming giant had already tested this approach last 2019, under a feature called Storylines. This particular feature was tested with some influencers, with the individuals being allowed to add stories to their respective playlists.

The new Stories-like format on the streaming app has garnered varying opinions from the public, with some tweeting that this has to stop.

Should the feature be introduced on a much wider scale, Spotify will be following in the footsteps of major social media platforms that have already introduced the trend, including the likes of Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. The latest to join the bandwagon is Twitter with its Fleets feature and LinkedIn.

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