Spotify expands music videos access to premium users in US, Canada to take on YouTube

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Dec 9 (Reuters) – Spotify said on Tuesday it is making music videos available to premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, as the Swedish streaming giant challenges YouTube for market share.

Video content offers a more immersive and engaging experience than audio alone, which could help attract more users and advertisers.

Spotify’s shares were up nearly 4% in afternoon trading. The stock has risen around 28% so far this year.

Following the beta launch in nearly 100 markets last year, this move is designed to enhance Spotify’s position compared to music streaming offerings of Apple and Amazon.

Spotify said the initial video catalog will include content from artists such as Ariana Grande, Olivia Dean, BABYMONSTER and Addison Rae.

“We’ve seen that when fans discover a track with a music video on Spotify, they’re 34% more likely to stream it again and 24% more likely to save or share it in the following week,” the company said.

Music videos will be available to all premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada by the end of the month.

Spotify recently unveiled Wrapped — its year-end roundup of users’ listening habits — that gained more than 200 million engaged users within around 24 hours, marking a 19% increase from a year earlier.

“Engagement is a very important part for sort of our measurement…sometimes, it could be an even more important than the number of users,” CFO Christian Luiga said last month at the Morgan Stanley tech conference.

The Financial Times reported last month that Spotify is expected to raise its U.S. subscription prices in the first quarter of next year.

The company already raised the cost of its premium individual plan in more than 150 markets in the September quarter, as it looks to drive earnings growth.

Spotify’s founder-CEO Daniel Ek will transition to executive chairman in January.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)