Spotify Adds In-App Music Videos, Claims It’s “Supporting Independent Artists” But Who’s Actually Buying That?

Spotify is doing that thing it always does when the heat gets a little too hot: tossing out a new feature and hoping the headlines shift. This time, it’s in-app music videos, a flashy roll-out hitting the U.S. and Canada “soon,” meant to position Spotify as the new one-stop home for everything audio and visual. Cute. But let’s not pretend this is happening in a vacuum.

This year, Spotify has been dragging a PR crisis like a ball and chain, from running ICE ads, to a wave of artist boycotts (Cindy Lee, King Gizzard, Deerhoof, Massive Attack… the list gets longer every week), to CEO Daniel Ek stepping down after backlash over his VC firm dumping nearly €600 million into a defense-tech company using AI for military targeting. Not exactly a feel-good year for the “music for everyone” company. So, of course, they’re flipping the script.

Spotify says it’s bringing music videos into the app after testing the feature in 98 markets last year. No firm date yet, and no clarity on whether ad-tier users will get access or if this becomes yet another “premium perk.”

The company framed the update as a win for independent musicians. And yes, in theory, giving indie artists more visual space inside the app could help them compete with the TikTok–YouTube machine. But the context… is loud.

With Daniel Ek stepping out, Gustav Söderström and Alex Norström are set to take over as co-CEOs in January. Right on cue, Spotify has also announced a new partnership with the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), allowing members to cut direct licensing deals with Spotify for expanded audiovisual rights, supposedly leading to bigger royalty payouts.

“This new partnership with the NMPA will increase revenue for songwriters and independent publishers who are the heart of the industry,” Norström said. NMPA president David Israelite echoed the sentiment, praising the new revenue opportunities for indie publishers. And honestly? It sounds great. But the timing feels… strategic.

When dozens of respected indie and alternative artists publicly pull their catalogs, it hurts, not just optically, but financially. Spotify knows the cultural backbone of music discovery doesn’t come from the big majors; it comes from independent artists, niche communities, and word-of-mouth cult followings. So rolling out a shiny “look, we care about indie creators!” music video feature right after a mass exodus and an ethics scandal? Feels less like innovation and more like damage control.

The Bottom Line

Will in-app music videos actually help indie artists? Maybe. Is Spotify trying to win back trust after a year of self-inflicted chaos? Absolutely.

But indie artists are tired of performative support. They want transparency, stability, and fairer payouts, not a new feature designed to patch a bruised reputation. And this winter, the biggest question hanging over Spotify isn’t how good the new features are. It’s whether the artists who walked away are willing to come back.