Spotify tests Discover video feed feature with more than a hint of TikTok
Spotify is trialling a new vertical video feed feature called Discover, and it has more than a whiff of TikTok about it.
The music streaming giant has confirmed that it is testing out a new Discover feature, which presents users with a vertical feed of music videos. It currently lives in a new fourth tab in the navigation bar, right in between Home and Search.
Spotify’s new provision was first spotted by Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) in the TestFlight version of Spotify.
As well as scrolling up and down through the music videos, you can tap a heart icon to like them, as well as opening out the song information sheet with a tap of the three-dot menu button.
It seems these Spotify Discover videos are taken directly from the featured artists’ Canvas content. Canvas was Spotify’s initiative to enable artists to create videos to accompany their music, rather than the usual static album art.
Spotify’s Discover feature doesn’t represent the first time that TikTok has had its successful approach to short-form video content parroted by rivals. YouTube, Netflix, and Instagram have all tried something similar.
In the case of Netflix, the video streaming titan recently tested out a feature called Kid Clips, which shows short videos taken from its library of children’s TV shows and movies.
This followed on from a similar effort in Fast Laughs, which applied the same format to its roster of comedy content.