Spotify Is Embracing Video and Games. Here Are The Main Reasons

Last Tuesday, Spotify announced the purchase of Heardle, a trivia game for Music Lovers. The game consists of listening to the first seconds of a song and then trying to guess which song it is. 

In addition to that, Spotify is also growing in 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 daring decision considering that the focus of Spotify is music and audio. 

We all know that one of the main values of Spotify is discovering new artists and songs (personally I use it for this reason). However, the company has a recent history of expanding to 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 increasing number of competitors that are growing in the industry.

With these new trends among these big players, we can see how important it is to diversify your content. People want to choose how they consume your content, so it is not good enough to stick to a single format.

Heardle 🤝 Spotify 

This is the first time Spotify purchased a game. But why Heardle?

The game is simple: you need to guess the name or the artist of some piece 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.

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 globally.

By now, Heardle is only available on their website. They expect to release their full mobile app integration in the near future, even though we don’t have a specific date yet.  

The intention of adding a game to the platform could be for multiple reasons: delivering a more interactive experience, achieving new audiences and allowing people to discover new music. 

Also, let’s remember how Spotify has been trying to give multiple playful experiences to their users. Two good examples are the Spotify Wrapped phenomenon that allows the creation of shareable pieces for social media. Also 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 they launched their gaming applications free for subscribers in November 2021.

Video Podcasts on Spotify 

Spotify is trying to expand its global podcast footprint generally. But it is also attempting 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 tackle this market, Spotify has decided to offer video podcasts to its creators. The strategy started in April this year for the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, and now, as of July 12, they extended this to another six countries.

Right now, audio and video are the main 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 purchase decision. 

The phenomenon of video podcasts is very interesting. In my case, I use both YouTube and Spotify to enjoy this kind 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 a great variety of ways. You can choose whether you want to read the latest news or listen to it while you are driving to your work.

Nonetheless, we have to consider that right now there is a proliferation of multimedia content platforms. For example, for streaming series or films you have multiple choices like Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Go, and so on. In the case of music or audio, you also have Deezer, YouTube Music, SoundCloud and the list continues to grow. 

Offering multiple formats is a way for them to stand out from the crowd and continue engaging their audience with something that the competition is not offering. 

Interactive content is increasing 

While using the new Heardle integration, I was amazed by how this single game can lead you to discover a lot of songs on Spotify. For sure this is going to extend my playlists. 

There’s something special here: interactivity. Many brands are using interactive experiences to accomplish their Marketing objectives. The reason is simple: they mix information with entertainment.

When you create an interactive piece you have multiple options: quizzes, calculators, playbooks, demos, and so on. Anything that will let you interact with your audience. At the same time, you will have a better understanding of how they click and use your content. 

Remember, doing Marketing in the digital age is not only about selling a product or service, it is about delivering a whole experience. Users aren’t satisfied when you stick to a single format or type of content. They look for variety, so they can have their favorite option.

Look for the habits of your target or persona and fulfill their entire journey.