Spotify Beta Tests Direct Music Video and Live Performance Uploads

Spotify opens direct uploads for music videos and live performances in beta

June 18, 2026 By Murray Stassen

Spotify has begun letting artists upload full-length videos directly to its platform, through the Spotify for Artists dashboard.

Artists in the beta can upload live performances, studio sessions, covers, and official music videos – all of which Spotify says are “royalty-bearing and may be chart-eligible”.

The move steps up Spotify ‘s challenge to YouTube , which dominates music video streaming globally.

Spotify launched music videos in beta across 11 markets in March 2024, and extended them to Premium users in the US and Canada in December 2025.

Until now, those videos have reached Spotify only through labels and distributors.

The direct-upload rollout began on Wednesday (June 17) , with Spotify saying “tens of thousands” of beta artists now have the option. Delivery through labels and distributors remains “the primary delivery path for audio and video music content on Spotify”, the company added.

“One thing we’ve seen consistently is that streaming videos leads to more listening,” Spotify said.

The company said that after streaming a video, listeners stream that song 64% more often over the following three weeks, on average, and are 1.4x more likely to save, share, or add it to a playlist.

Those listeners then go on to stream the rest of an artist’s catalog 57% more over the same period, according to Spotify .

Spotify said streams from an artist’s biggest monthly active listeners, which it calls “super listeners”, rose 62% over the three weeks after a video stream. The company equated that to more than an hour and 40 minutes of additional listening time.

Because the videos are royalty-bearing, Spotify said artists “can earn from the video itself as well as the listening that follows”.

Once uploaded, the videos can appear in Spotify ‘s personalized video playlist, Videos For You, and in editorial playlists such as Today’s Top Videos, Live Performances, and Video Covers. They can also surface on artists’ profiles, release pages, and the Now Playing view.

Early uploads have come from artists including Hazlett , who posted a live performance of Blame the Moon , and We Three , who shared a cover of Drops of Jupiter .

Bebe Rexha uploaded the official music video for Hysteria .

Spotify said videos should be uploaded in landscape (16:9) format, and that visualizers, lyric videos, multi-song concerts, and videos without music are not currently supported.

Once a video is uploaded, the company said it will automatically create short-form previews for use across Spotify .

The expansion comes as Spotify ends support for new Clips uploads, the short-form video feature it launched in 2023 .

Any Clips already uploaded will remain available, the company said, with the Clips tab on an artist’s profile transitioning to a Video tab over time.

Independent artists have also been able to upload videos to Spotify via DistroKid ‘s DistroVid service since June 2025.

It is not the first time Spotify has let artists upload content directly.

The company began allowing independent artists to upload their music to the platform in 2018 , before closing that program in 2019 .

Spotify said it is rolling out access to the video-upload beta gradually, “with more artists getting access throughout the year”. Music Business Worldwide

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/spotify-opens-direct-uploads-for-music-videos-and-live-performances-in-beta/)._