Spotify’s Spotlight Section Will Blend Podcasts, Images, Videos To Create New Media Offering

The future of Spotify‘s video programming is taking shape. The music streaming service has announced Spotlight, a new platform that will be anchored by podcasts and will also feature videos, images, and text.

Spotlight will feature contributions from several top media companies, including BuzzFeed News, Gimlet Media, and Lebron James’ Uninterrupted. Those publishers will supply the new venture with podcasts and audiobooks, all of which will be backed by supplementary content in order to create a structure Spotify calls “visual layers.”

“We are excited to launch Spotlight, a new format that merges great storytelling, news, information and opinion with visual elements all delivered in playlist form across a number of content categories,” said Courtney Holt, Spotify’s Head of Studios and Video, in a post announcing the new feature. “Playlists play an important role in the daily lives of our users bringing them closer to the creators they love.”

Spotlight is one of the first projects Holt, a former Maker Studios exec, has undertaken since joining Spotify last September. Shortly after hiring him, Spotify canceled all of the original video projects that had been launched by Holt’s predecessor, Tom Calderone, who left the company in August. Since then, observers have wondered how Spotify would plan to rebuild its video library, and Spotlight appears to be the company’s answer to that question.

Should Spotlight prove popular with Spotify users, the streaming service will receive a big boost as it moves forward with its plan to become publicly traded. Its desire to arrive on Wall Street via an unconventional direct listing was revealed in a report that arrived just after New Year’s Day.