Just 9 months after adding video to its music streaming platform, Spotify is letting deals with major content sources lapse in favor, the company says, of producing more original content itself.
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Spotify is letting many of its video deals with major content providers including Viacom, Vice Media, NBC, BBC, Viacom (MTV, VH1, Comedy Central) and Warner Bros. lapse just 9 months after launching on its streaming platform. Some content from TED Talks, Artists Den, Genius the Country Music Association and others remains.
The new focus will, Spotify said in a statement, be on creating original programming:
“We’re one hundred percent committed to video and podcast content and exploring new and fresh ideas for our audience, and we have lots of great original content available now or coming soon, such as our Landmark Metallica documentary. We work with many different non-music content partners to develop and deliver content, and that roster of partners naturally changes from time to time.”
Spotify is rumored to have invested heavily in licensing content, which in many cases failed to garner a large audience. With much of the content also available elsewhere, the music streamer also never aggressively promoted itself as a video destination.
Original programing will prove to be a smart new strategy, only if it produces hits.