Spotify launches Video Podcast in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK

From a simple audio service provider, Spotify is now evolving into something new with the introduction of Video Podcasts on its platform. On Thursday, the company announced the expansion of access for content creators who want to publish Video Podcasts. The support for the feature will be introduced in five global markets — the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. Spotify said that they have further “plan to roll this out to additional markets in the future.”

“Last fall, Spotify began activating Video Podcasts for creators on a limited basis,” Spotify says in its post announcing the expansion. “Since then, we’ve found that podcasters love having the option to accompany their audio with visual components, and fans love having the opportunity to more deeply connect with the content. So as the audience for this format grows, we’re also opening up the Video Podcast capability to more creators, creating a growing catalog of video podcasts.”

Now, with the expansion happening in five locations, podcasters will be able to upload their Video Podcasts to Spotify through Anchor’s web platform. Nonetheless, Spotify noted that while the new Video Podcast will let the audience “get to know their favorite podcast hosts even better, and allow creators to connect with their audiences in a much deeper way,” there is still an option to opt back to the basic audio podcasts since the “video on Spotify is backgroundable.”

Spotify acknowledged that exploring the realm of Video Podcasts might be a strange, new experience for some creators. With this, the company introduced new features that could make content creators more comfortable when creating their Video Podcast.

“With this latest expansion, we’re continuing to make Video Podcasting a great experience for creators—empowering them to reach new global audiences, own how they monetize their content, and interact with fans in new ways,” says Spotify. “There’s a massive opportunity for Video Podcasts on Spotify, and we can’t wait to see what creators bring to the table.”

Some of the basic features are embeddable video and video-specific analytics. Adding to these features is the Riverside integration, which starts Spotify’s new partnership. Through this integration, podcasters will be given the option to perform remote recording, with a convenient distribution path to Spotify via Anchor. For current creators who have already published tons of audio podcasts, on the other hand, Spotify is offering Video Bulk-Replace that can replace current audio episodes with video versions.

Meanwhile, Spotify says that Video Podcasts will include the interactive podcast features (like Polls and Q&A) to let podcasters better interact with their audience while also being able to receive feedback. Likewise, it will have the Spotify Podcast Subscriptions, though the company said more monetization features are coming soon.