Spotify Plans to Start Streaming Videos

The digital music streaming world is an arms race. As Jay Z's maligned but well-funded Tidal throws exclusives and live shows at the wall to see what sticks, and while Apple attempts to squeeze competitors out of the game altogether, Spotify is attempting to clutch onto its number-one spot. According to the New York Times, one of the keys to the streaming giant's plan is to incorporate video streaming into its service. The Times reports that Spotify has been in talks with "major television networks, online video producers and magazine publishers" to bring video content to the site. The change could happen as soon as this months, reports say.

Spotify has apparently approached NBCUniversal, Fox and Viacom, the latter the parent company of Comedy Central and MTV. Sources with knowledge of the talks say that Spotify is offering other media companies millions of dollars in guaranteed revenue, and the talks have been characterized as "aggressive." A meda executive who has been briefed on the situation says that Spotify is aware its users often leave the platform to view clips on Youtube. Spotify's latest round of investments is expected to value the company at more than $8 billion dollars; 2014 was the first year in which digital streaming was more profitable than CD sales, per the RIAA.

Filed Under: Beats Music, rdio, spotify, tidal

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