Spotify included music videos in its own Top 50.
On Tuesday, July 21, Spotify launched its first global chart dedicated to music videos, ranking the 50 most-watched videos on the platform each day. Artists can also submit new videos directly to Spotify’s editorial team for the first time, giving them the opportunity to appear in playlists including Best New Videos, Live Performances, and Today’s Best Videos.
These features come after Spotify’s ongoing expansion of music videos, including full-length movie downloads, personalized recommendations, and early premieres from artists like BTS, Jelly Roll, and Taylor Swift. Artists can also now upload their own videos through Spotify for Artists.
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Put it all together, and Spotify begins to resemble a version of MTV built for the streaming age, with exclusive premieres, countdowns, and ever-changing ratings. There may not be a VJ telling viewers what’s coming next, but if you’re into that kind of thing, there’s an AI DJ. Otherwise, Spotify’s editors and recommendation algorithms fill this role.
Spotify has created its own music video countdown
The new Music Video Charts Global ranks videos by daily plays, updates daily at 6:00 pm ET, and is featured in the Spotify Charts and Music Video Playlists hubs. Every Tuesday, the company will also publish the top 10 videos of the week on its social media accounts.
Shakira and Burna Boy topped the chart with “Dai Dai,” the official song of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which just surpassed 130 million total streams on Spotify.
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For anyone who remembers the MTV countdown show, this idea should sound familiar.
But Spotify’s version is more modern and personalized. The Videos for You playlist, the platform’s first personalized music video playlist, recommends videos based on individual users’ listening habits. Anyone who wants a broader view of what’s popular can visit the global chart, while everyone else can get a lineup curated just for them.
Videos can also appear on Spotify’s home screen, artist profiles, release pages, editorial playlists, and Now Playing view. Subscribers can receive push notifications when an artist releases a new video, increasing the likelihood that the listener will see it.
Spotify is also using early releases to give fans a reason to watch music videos within the app rather than automatically being directed to YouTube.
On July 17, 2026, BTS premiered the video for “NORMAL” on Spotify and made it exclusive to the service within the first 48 hours. Spotify said the release set the platform’s record for the most streamed K-pop music videos in a single day. BTS currently holds six of the top 10 spots on Spotify’s first global music video chart.
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Jelly Roll provided Premium subscribers with a similar 48-hour first look at the film “Hands Up,” filmed at San Quentin State Prison. Fans in Spotify’s beta markets could watch both premieres on mobile, desktop, or TV by playing any song and selecting “Switch to Video.”
Taylor Swift took a slightly different approach to “Opalite”, releasing the video on Spotify and Apple Music in February 2026, and then releasing it on YouTube – rumored to be because YouTube left the US charts in January 2026.
New opportunity beyond YouTube
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For years, YouTube views have helped determine where songs and albums appear on the Billboard charts. It ended in January 2026 after YouTube and Billboard could not agree on how views should be counted.
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The dispute centered on Billboard’s decision to place more emphasis on paid subscriber traffic than on those using free, ad-supported services. YouTube argued that this formula underestimated viewers, but Billboard maintained its methodology. YouTube subsequently withdrew its US data and its views no longer contribute to any charts.
This doesn’t make YouTube any less useful for attracting fans. According to the company, more than 2 billion registered users watch music videos on the platform every month. YouTube Music also offers over 100 million songs along with official videos, live performances, remixes, covers, short videos and fan uploads, most of which are available without a paid subscription.
This huge audience also brings money. Between July 2024 and June 2025, YouTube paid out more than $8 billion to artists, songwriters, labels and publishers. Its music and premium services had more than 125 million subscribers worldwide, including free trial users. Some Internet users consider YouTube to be the current champion among music video platforms – the situation has not changed.
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What has changed is the automatic assumption that every major music video should appear on YouTube first. Spotify also says that eligible music videos can receive royalties and qualify for chart placement, although chart eligibility depends on the release and chart rules.
Smaller artists can upload videos too.
The biggest premieres can draw fans to Spotify’s video section, but artists don’t need a BTS-sized commercial to appear there.
Until recently, music videos mostly found their way onto Spotify through labels, distributors or services like DistroVid, a paid video distribution tool run by independent music distributor DistroKid. Artists use the service to submit music videos to platforms like Spotify, Apple Music and Vevo without going through a record label. That changed on June 17 when Spotify began allowing artists in its beta program to upload full-length videos directly through Spotify for Artists.
Almost 100,000 artists now have access to this feature, and everyone else can join the waitlist. Labels and distributors will remain Spotify’s primary delivery channel for music and videos, but participating artists will no longer have to rely on them to post videos on the platform.
They also have more options than traditional music video creation. Spotify accepts live performances, acoustic and studio sessions, and covers, all of which can earn royalties and qualify for inclusion on its charts, giving artists the opportunity to work with content they can actually create.
Spotify pointed to indie rock band The Runarounds as one example of how this could lead to additional plays. According to the company, people who watched the cover version of “Valerie” live listened to 67 percent more of its wider catalog than people who only heard the audio. They also listened to 21 percent more individual tracks.
For artists already creating video content, Spotify gives that work another chance to reach listeners and bring them directly to the music.
Spotify says viewing leads to more listening
Spotify is investing in video because the company says viewers tend to continue listening even after the screen goes dark.
According to Spotify’s latest data, users listen to a song 64 percent more often within three weeks of watching its full-length video than comparable listeners who only heard audio. They are also 1.4 times more likely to save it, share it, or add it to a playlist.
This interest may spread. Spotify also reports that viewers streamed 57 percent more of an artist’s catalog over the same period. Among “super listeners” (the name given to an artist’s most active monthly listeners), streaming increases 62 percent after watching a video. Spotify adds that this averages over an hour and 40 minutes of additional listening.
So the company has built video directly into the standard audition process. If a song has a video available, users can select “Switch to Video” without restarting the song. They can then switch back to sound at the same moment. The process preserves every part of the experience within Spotify: the user can listen to a song, watch a video, save it, and continue exploring the artist’s music without leaving the app.
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It also gives Spotify another way to attract users as the company expands beyond its original music streaming business. The company already offers audiobooks and video podcasts, and by the end of 2025, there were nearly 500,000 video podcast shows available on the platform.
Some Listeners Still Prefer Spotify to Stick to Audio
Spotify’s growing focus on video has created some controversy among people who open the app just to listen. WIRED reported that videos sometimes played automatically, consuming additional data and draining battery power. In other cases, the video replaced the album recording with audio containing dialogue or sound effects.
Spotify has since added settings that allow users to turn off music videos, Canvas animations, and video podcasts, giving those who only listen to audio the option to remove most of the app’s visual features.
Despite this, searching for a specific music video may still be hit or miss. WIRED also found that Spotify’s catalog seemed inconsistent, with some videos available and others missing.
The bigger question is whether Spotify can convince listeners to become viewers. If possible, your next music video might start not from a YouTube search, but from inside a personalized Spotify playlist.