Ahead of its IPO, Spotify has announced the launch of a new feature called “Spotlight,” which will officially introduce multimedia visual content to the service, including text, video, and pictures.
According to a blog post from Spotify, the feature will “launch with content from various Spotify partners including BuzzFeed News, Cheddar, Crooked Media, Lenny Letter, Gimlet Media, Genius, The Minefield Girl, Refinery29 and Uninterrupted. Additionally, Spotlight will feature content from some of Spotify’s own original series such as RISE, Secret Genius, Spotify Singles and the new Viva Latino podcast.”
“We are excited to launch Spotlight, a new format that merges great storytelling, news, information and opinion with visual elements all delivered in playlist form across a number of content categories,” said Courtney William Holt, Head of Studios and Video. “Playlists play an important role in the daily lives of our users bringing them closer to the creators they love.”
Senior staff from Buzzfeed, Gimlet, and Uninterrupted also sang praise for the feature.
“It feels like a generation ago that MTV News delivered the latest to a whole generation of music fans, but it’s not hard to imagine BuzzFeed News and Spotify doing the same in 2018. We’re incredibly excited to bring together our award-winning audio team, world-class journalism, and Spotify’s massive, dynamic platform to get listeners up to speed every morning. I can’t wait to see this project get off the ground next week and grow along with the future of news.” – Ben Smith, Editor-in-Chief, BuzzFeed News
“We’re excited to see partners like Spotify investing in podcasting to enhance the audience’s experience of our storytelling.” “Everything at Gimlet begins with audio, and with Spotlight, through new visual expressions of shows, we hope to reach new listeners in fresh and original ways.” – Matt Lieber, co-founder and president, Gimlet Media
“Uninterrupted is creating new and innovative ways for athletes to connect with their fans through authentic, insightful, and entertaining content they can’t get anywhere else. How we watch, enjoy and engage with the content created by great athletes on and off the floor is rapidly changing. Spotify is an incredible partner for Uninterrupted. Their Spotlight platform becomes an entirely new and creative way for Uninterrupted to help tell the best stories in sports.” – Maverick Carter, CEO, Uninterrupted
Spotlight is currently available in the U.S. and will roll out to additional markets in the near future. Additional series will be launching throughout the month of February.
via Spotify
