Ashley Rodriguez
Jul 20, 22 | 4 min read
Spotify is embracing video and gaming
Reading time: 4 minutes
On July 12, Spotify announced the acquisition of Heardle , a trivia game for music lovers. The game consists of listening to the first few seconds of a song and then trying to guess what song it is.
On top of that, Spotify is also growing into the video podcast industry . Already available in the US and Canada, the company is expanding the feature to six new markets (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico) – a bold move considering Spotify’s focus is on music and audio.
We all know that one of Spotify’s core catalan email list values is discovering new artists and songs (I personally use it for this reason). However, the company has a recent history of expanding into other markets, such as podcasts and audiobooks. And now games and video.
The current scenario is also forcing apps and streaming services to offer different things to their audiences. Both Netflix and Spotify are looking for strategies to overcome the growing number of competitors in the industry.
With these new trends among these big players, we can see how important it is to diversify content. People want to choose how they consume content, so it is not enough to stick to one format.
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Heardle
Spotify This is the first time Spotify has bought a game. But why Heardle ?
The game is simple: you have to guess the name or artist of a song by listening to a few seconds of it. At the end, when the answer is shown, the game will take you to a link on Spotify.
How to play Heardle
The idea is also inspired by another popular game called Wordle , published by The New York Times, which is about guessing words. It is also very popular worldwide.
For now, Heardle is only available on their website. They hope to launch full mobile app integration in the near future, though we don't have a specific date yet.
The intention to add a game to the platform could be due to multiple reasons: providing a more interactive experience, reaching new audiences and allowing people to discover new music.
Also, let's remember how Spotify has been trying to provide multiple playful experiences to its users. Two good examples are Spotify Wrapped , which allows the creation of shareable pieces for social networks, and the new Karaoke mode , which is offering a very interesting experience.
On the other hand, we have witnessed how the gaming industry is a new target for many companies. Netflix is a great example of this since it launched its free gaming apps for subscribers in November 2021.
Video Podcasts on Spotify
Spotify is trying to expand its global podcast presence in general. But it's also trying to compete with YouTube, which already has a massive global presence , and also has a music platform very similar to Spotify, called YouTube Music.
To address this market, Spotify has decided to offer video podcasts to its creators. The strategy began in April this year for the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, and has now extended it to six other countries as of July 12.
Right now, audio and video are the top formats people are looking to consume. Statistics show that 60% of the US population admitted to listening to audio content in 2020. On the other hand, 80% of millennials consider video content when making a purchasing decision.
The video podcast phenomenon is very interesting. In my case, I use both YouTube and Spotify to enjoy this type of content. And personally, I really like being able to choose in which format I want to consume the content I like.
Don't stick to a single format
The Internet allows us to share information in many different ways. You can choose whether you want to read the latest news or listen to it while driving to work.
However, it should be noted that there is currently a proliferation of multimedia content platforms. For example, for streaming series or movies you have multiple options such as Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Go, etc. In the case of music or audio, you also have Deezer, Google Play, SoundCloud and the list continues to grow.
Offering multiple formats is one way to stand out from the crowd and continue to engage your audience with something your competition doesn't offer.
