Spotify Files Patent for Short-Form Video Sharing Akin to TikTok

A new patent filed by Spotify shows the streaming giant is serious about accelerating its presence in the visual content arena. 

The company recently introduced video podcasts to its platform in 2020 and is continuing to build its audiovisual offerings for artists, including canvas art and music videos. The recent developments have put the platform on a collision course with the likes of similar multimedia platforms such as YouTube. 

It seems, however, that Spotify has been paying particularly close attention to TikTok as of late. In a groundbreaking move, Spotify has filed a patent that would enable users to share short-form "video moments" soundtracked to music. 

In the patent, the Stockholm-based company shares its framework for a TikTok-like ecosystem wherein users are able to select songs directly from Spotify's media servers and apply them to their own videos. The ability to message and share these videos will simultaneously allow others to see the name of the song playing and the artist, so they can then search for the music themselves.

"Unfortunately, there is no easy way to add a media content, for example a particular song, to a video message," according to the patent filing. "Existing techniques generally require the user to send a video message with ambient music playing in the background, which offers poor quality and does not provide a context for the recipient of the video message to determine which, e.g., song or artist, is being included." 

While there's no guarantee the company's short-form video plans will come to fruition, the move—in the very least—displays Spotify's concerted efforts to expand their horizons and adapt to current trends.

Source: Digital Music News