We all know Spotify as a streaming music service, but it could also be known as the music video streaming service if a new experiment proves worthwhile.
As TechCrunch reports, Spotify has confirmed it’s testing a new feature called Discover, which offers a vertical list of music videos you can scroll through. Every time a new video slides into view it automatically starts playing and there’s options to like or skip it.
Twitter user Chris Messina recorded the Discover feature in action, which he found in a TestFlight (beta) build of the Spotify app on iOS. You can watch it below:
The Spotify navigation bar has also been updated as part of this experiment, with a Discover icon appearing on the fourth tab of the bar in between the Home and Search icons.
Although details are sparse, it’s speculated that the videos are created by the artists using Spotify’s Canvas format. So rather than the official music videos that are released for some songs, an artist could choose to create something unique for Spotify users to view as they listen.
As this is just an experiment seemingly found by accident, it’s too early to say if the music videos will become a core feature, or at least option, in the Spotify app. Even if they do, music listening is usually a passive form of entertainment, listened to with your smartphone safely stored away in a pocket rather than held with the screen viewed.
