Spotify, Reddit to Leap Into the Ever-Crowded Online Video Business Spotify is expected to announce its video plans at a May 20 press event that could coincide with a rumored $400 million funding round.
By Geoff Weiss
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
Just months ago, it seemed like YouTube was the Web's de facto video hub. But today, in a crowded landscape that has grown to include competitors like Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and Vessel, two more Internet companies are making slated forays into the medium.
Music streaming giant Spotify is entering online video with ad-supported content that will be available to subscribers and nonsubscribers alike, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company is hosting a press event on May 20 to ostensibly announce these efforts.
Spotify has been in talks with YouTube multi-channel networks like Maker Studios and Fullscreen as well as traditional media players like Time Inc. about acquiring existing content and co-creating original series, according to the report. Its expansion into video would coincide with a $400 million funding round that the company is currently seeking at an $8.4 billion valuation.
Related: Spotify Reportedly Aiming to Raise $500 Million
Spotify did not immediately respond to request for comment.
The news arrives on the heels of an announcement by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian at TechCrunch Disrupt NY earlier this week that the company is rolling out its own video unit, Reddit Video.
Thus far, the company has hired two video producers to spearhead original videos, and efforts will initially focus on interpreting the site's infamous "Ask Me Anything' interviews into video form. Content will be distributed across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and more, Ohanian said in a Reddit thread.
