Once done, they arrive at the downtown LA parking lot stage of Russell Simmon’s new company All-Def Digital, where they perform their new collaboration (as well as other songs) before a crowd of raucous super fans. As they drive to an undisclosed location they must come up with a remix or mashup of one of their well-known tracks. Rush Hour – Two hip-hop artists (one legend, one young buck) are picked up in a van during the height of LA rush hour.

“We are working with artists, producers and partners who understand that the Spotify audience has a strong connection to artists and wants to go deeper into their worlds, see their performances and expressions, and hear their stories.” Tom Calderone, the company’s global head of content, said Spotify is developing original content rooted in music, pop culture and animation. Spotify offers its video to both free and paying users in four countries - the U.S., U.K., Germany and Sweden - on both Apple devices and those running on Google’s Android software. Spotify Monday unveiled an original video programming slate for 2016, with 12 projects focused on music performances, pop culture, musical storytelling, animation and music culture. Spotify’s chief rival Apple Music has begun commissioning original series, and sites like Facebook have been aggressively campaigning to increase the amount of video its users see in their news feeds.Īlso Read: VH1 Veteran Tom Calderone Joins Spotify as Content Deal Broker Online video is digital media companies’ hot strategy, desired by platforms like music services and social networks for its capability to hold viewers attention better and command higher ad rates than other digital content. Although the company announced it a year ago, it began rolling it out widely starting in late January. Traditional giants like ESPN and Comedy Central agreed to distribute on the service, alongside digital upstarts like Vice Media and Maker Studios. Spotify was slow to roll out its video product, which until now has largely been stocked with content from other media companies. More than 75 million people use Spotify free by sitting through ads. It comes a year after Spotify originally unveiled its plans to begin distributing videos and podcasts on its subscription streaming service, which is the world’s largest with 30 million paying members. Leading streaming-music service Spotify is the latest digital platform grabbing for video viewers, and unveiled a slate of a dozen originals programs Monday, including a mockumentary series created by actor Tim Robbins.

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