Spotify Clips Are Like Snapchat Stories For Artists Only
It's Spotify's big day today, not only boasting of its large library of content and roster of artists on its platform, it also announced new features, like its HiFi lossless streaming. One feature that didn't get the spotlight has actually been in limited testing for a few months but is only now getting a formal name. Spotify Clips is now rolling out, at least if you're an artist, and like everyone else, it's taking a page out of Snapchat's book.
Although it has been years since Snapchat first introduced the concept of Stories to the world, some social networks are still copying it to this day. Twitter's Fleets, for example, is the most recent example but hardly the last one. Spotify joins that group now with the formally named "Spotify Clips".
The feature has actually been in testing since last year, first under the name "Storyline". That testing phase was limited to a few big names from the music industry, including the likes of Kelly Clarkson and even J Lo. Even with this wider rollout, Spotify Clips remains an exclusive tool for artists.
We're introducing new ways for artists to use playlists to share their stories with fans ✨
Spotify Clips will debut on even more Spotify playlists, featuring artists in short videos that let them put their own stamp on a playlist experience 🎥 #SpotifyStreamOn pic.twitter.com/sgHTWV244W
— Spotify for Artists (@spotifyartists) February 22, 2021
Just like with any Stories-like feature, Clips involves collecting short videos on playlists that are meant to share "intimate moments" with fans. Since it's clearly more of a marketing tool, it's no surprise that it's being made available to artists only. Whether that changes in the future will probably depend on whether it resonates with Spotify's entire user base.
Spotify has also announced other tools to spruce up their playlists with eye-catching visuals. Canvas can add looping videos, for example, while Marquee is a "full-screen, sponsored recommendation" to advertise new releases. Spotify revealed that over 76,000 artists had their playlists added to Spotify for the first time just last year alone, flaunting the big numbers in the faces of its rivals.