Spotify has launched a test of video-based courses in the UK, partnering with educational tech companies BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Skillshare, and Thinkific. The new offering brings video content directly to the platform’s users alongside their favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks, the company has announced.

UK users can now find purchasable video courses covering topics categorized into four main themes: make music, get creative, learn business, and healthy living. This expansion provides listeners with abundant options to expand their knowledge on the platform.

“Testing video courses in the UK allows us to explore an exciting opportunity to better serve the needs of our users who have an active interest in learning,” states Babar Zafar, VP of Product Development at Spotify. “Many of our users engage with podcasts and audiobooks daily for learning, and we believe this highly engaged community will be interested in accessing quality video content from course creators.”

With this test, the company explores providing video course creators access to a new audience of engaged users on the platform, potentially reaching a wider segment of their user base while simultaneously expanding the catalog of available content.

“At Spotify, we’re constantly striving to create new offerings for our creators and users, and having built best-in-class personalized music and podcast offerings, we look forward to exploring the potential of video-based learning on Spotify,” Zafar says.

Approximately half of Spotify Premium subscribers have engaged with education or self-help-themed podcasts. For the test, UK Free and Premium users can trial at least two lessons per course at no cost before deciding whether to purchase additional lessons through a dedicated web page.

Consumers can find course videos in the mobile app’s home and browse tabs. Once selected, they can explore available offerings across the four categories before making purchases on desktop. Purchased courses become available on mobile and desktop.

Spotify’s content partners include:

• BBC Maestro: creating content to educate and inspire creativity exploration through expert-led lessons and course notes.
• PLAYvirtuoso: transforming modern music learning with artist-led courses, mentoring, and structured curriculums.
• Skillshare: an online community offering thousands of creative classes across design, freelancing, entrepreneurship, and more.
• Thinkific: a platform for creating, marketing, and selling courses, digital products, communities, and learning experiences.