Spotify Dives into E-Learning with Freemium Video Courses

Music streaming giant Spotify is venturing into uncharted territory: online education.

In a move to keep its 600 million users engaged and spending more, Spotify is testing a new feature called "Courses" in the UK. 

This pilot program offers freemium video courses produced in partnership with established names like BBC and Skillshare.

Users will get access to at least two lessons for free, with the full course costing between £20 and £80 on average. 

Notably, the pricing remains the same for both free and premium Spotify subscribers, at least for now.

"We're trying to understand the demand first," explains Mohit Jitani, Spotify's London-based product director for education.

"Pricing choices are part of what we're testing before considering a wider rollout."

These courses will be accessible on the Spotify app, web player, and will be prominently displayed on the home and browse tabs under the "Courses" section.

Content will range from creative pursuits like music production to practical skills like using Excel. 

Interestingly, some courses even teach users how to create their own online learning content, potentially fostering a community of "education creators" within the platform.

While online learning is a crowded market with established players and even startups aiming to be the "Spotify for education," Spotify's approach focuses on simpler, on-demand video lessons.

While some courses might offer supplementary materials like documents, interactive elements like tests or gamification features are absent for now. 

Jitani remained tight-lipped on whether Spotify plans to introduce these features in the future.

For its initial launch, Spotify has partnered with Skillshare (targeting creative fields), PLAYvirtuoso (music industry courses), BBC Maestro (offering Masterclass-style content), and Thinkific (a platform for aspiring online educators). 

"We'll be looking to curate courses based on what people are already listening to and searching for on Spotify," says Jitani.

This suggests a data-driven approach, allowing Spotify to tailor course offerings to user interests.

The revenue model involves third-party publishers licensing their video content to Spotify, but users will make purchases directly within the platform.

Creators, publishers, and Spotify will all share a portion of the sales, with content partners handling creator payments. 

The specific revenue split and potential discounts for premium subscribers remain undisclosed.

With this foray into education, Spotify hopes to not only increase user engagement but also explore new revenue streams.

The success of this pilot program in the UK will likely determine whether Spotify expands its course offerings and makes them a permanent fixture on the platform.