Swedish-based streaming music service Spotify is expanding its offering to include podcasts, new types of playlists and most importantly, video. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek made the announcement earlier today at a media gathering in New York City, describing the expansion as a massive leap forward that goes beyond conventional formats.
Spotify now includes a new "Now" start page featuring custom playlists based on whatever mood you're in. Similar to what's offered from Songza, tunes will be curated from in-house music experts and your own collection that'll adapt over time to better fit your taste and mood.
There's also a new "Running" feature that puts together a collection of exercise-inspiring tracks to help keep runners motivated. Podcasts are now supported for those looking to stay informed / entertained without having to leave the Spotify app.
The big news out of today's media event is video. As was correctly rumored earlier this month, Spotify has recruited a plethora of media partners to join in the effort including ABC, Adult Swim, BBC, Comedy Central, ESPN, MTV, NBC, TED and Vice News, just to name a few. Users can expect clips from partners as well as in-house content from Spotify focused mostly on music.
The overhaul comes just months after Jay Z relaunched Tidal and ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference where it's expected to unveil a subscription-based streaming music service based on Beats Music.