Spotify Looking To Add Video Streaming

Reports are that Spotify has been reaching out to top YouTube content creators and traditional media companies in an attempt to accrue content for a new streaming video feature. Although no specific date for the launch has been officially announced, many believe it will come by the end of the month.

The feature is said to be free and will take advantage of the existing advertising infrastructure that the company has set up for its streaming music service.

Spotify recently raised another round of investment said to be around $350 million on the basis of a total valuation of $8 billion. Speculation is that the introduction of video played a large part in raising the cash.

While it's difficult to make money with streaming music, video streaming (even if it's free) is another story, as more and more brands expand their advertising in that area. Of course, YouTube hasn't done too badly with that model either.

Another reason why Spotify might be going that route is from pressure brought by other streaming music services like TIDAL and Google Play, which also offer video. That said, Rdio also tried a video feature but abandoned it after 6 months.

Spotify also sees the upcoming competition from both Apple's new music service and from Google's Music Key, and views adding video as the best way weather the storm of their launches. That's also why we'll probably see a Spotify video launch sooner rather than later.

Whether the streaming service's new video feature will actually gain traction is another story.

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6 Reasons Why Live Concert Streaming Hasn't Taken Off

A few years ago, the technology and bandwidth seemed to have advanced to the point where live concert video streaming from venues large and small would be inevitable. That hasn't happened and there are a number of reasons, as outlined by a recent Billboard article:

1. Production costs. It costs a lot more to produce a live video stream than a live concert recording.

2. Union fees. Ask anyone who's ever dealt with a major venue and they'll tell you about the union fees that are introduced the moment a camera appears.

3. The bandwidth isn't there yet. Surprisingly, you can't always get the upload bandwidth needed to support a live stream, and many times when you can it's way too expensive.

4. Promoters are afraid. They think that it will prevent people from attending the show.

5. It's the same show. Most acts have a show that's pretty much the same every night. There's very little reason for someone to purchase a live stream more than once. Plus, it may prevent a fan from actually attended the show when it comes to town since they've already seen it.

6. Ownership. For small venues, the issue of licensing fees and ownership of the product become a huge issue. Who owns the product? Who pays the publishing? Can cover songs be cleared in a timely fashion?

Live concert streaming looked like it might become a major new income stream a few years ago, but as with many technologies, just because it's possible doesn't necessarily mean there's a business there.

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