Summary
- Spotify now offers video courses in the UK, partnering with educational tech companies for a new learning experience.
- Users can try two lessons in a course for free regardless of their Spotify subscription, with the option to purchase the full course.
- Courses might become part of Spotify Premium in the future, expanding based on listener habits and user feedback.
Spotify is among the world’s largest and most popular music streaming platforms. Over the years, the service has expanded to include audiobooks and podcasts, with music videos getting a limited release on the platform earlier this month. In a new experiment, Spotify is now adding video-based courses to its library in the UK.
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The streaming service has partnered with educational tech companies like BBC Maestro, Skillshare, and Thinkific to sell video courses through its app. Initially, Spotify will list courses across four categories: make music, get creative, learn business, and healthy living. They will be listed alongside music, podcasts, and the UK.
Spotify believes that offering educational courses through its platform will provide creators with a bigger audience for their video content. If you are in the UK, Spotify says you can try two lessons in a course for free, regardless of whether you are a free or Premium subscriber. You can then decide whether to buy the full course. This freemium model can help translate into more sales.
If you decide to buy a course from Spotify’s Android app, you will get an email link to pay for it. On iPhone, you will have to use Spotify on the web to make the purchase. The company is not providing an in-app purchase option to avoid paying transaction fees to Google and Apple on every course it sells. Alternatively, you can directly navigate to Spotify’s course website and log in with your account to start trialing or purchasing courses.
Courses could become a part of Spotify Premium in the future
For now, Spotify is listing courses as an experiment based on its users’ podcast and audiobook listening habits. Based on its success, the company might decide whether to expand the availability of courses to more countries.
Like audiobooks, Spotify might eventually bundle a few hours or the first few lessons of courses for free as a part of its Premium plan. The company already does something similar with audiobooks, providing up to 15 hours of free monthly access on its paid plans.
Spotify is adding courses to its library after significantly reducing its headcount in 2023 to become “relentlessly resourceful.” Last year, it went through three major layoffs to make its operations leaner and align with its financial goals. Given the claimed focus on resources, it is surprising to see Spotify experimenting with adding courses to its platform.
