There is a proliferation of video channels. In fact the word channel probably doesn't apply though the word platform seems to general as well. We no longer get video from broadcast or cable. Short or long term video content is no longer only available on You Tube or Hulu or Netflix or Crackle. And video content is no longer limited to video only websites or apps. Facebook and Twitter love to share an connect us with video as well. Even social media companies like Snapchat, with disappearing messages, wants to offer video content from Discovery and other content providers. Video content is so hot these days that platforms that were so focused on data or non video offerings have found compelled to bring video into their mix.
And that brings us to Spotify, a music company offering streaming songs for free or in a subscription service, to decide that they too need to also be a video content company. You might think that the video content would be rooted in music, like music videos or concerts, but that does not seem to be the case. According to reports, video will come from such sources as ESPN and Comedy Central. News, comedy and video sports content will all be added to Spotify's playlist of content.
As I watch this proliferation of content across so many sites, and as I watch niche sites become more generalized and mainstream, I recognize that once again history repeats itself. Cable networks, once niche content providers, would limit their content to a particular format. But to compete for the largest number of eyeballs and subscribers, to gain the larger share of the ad dollar pile, niche services all realize that eventually they must shift from niche to broad, from limited to general, in order to reach the widest and hopefully largest size audience. For Spotify, as it is for others, that means moving away from your niche as a music service to be everything for everyone in order to keep growing. This type of strategic shift is always inevitable.
