Spotify is one of the best music streaming services when it comes to discovering new music, and while I think Daylist is one of the most underrated features for finding your next music obsession, Spotify’s flagship New Music Friday playlists are just as reliable. Now it gets a visual upgrade.
The music streaming giant announced today (June 12) that its New Music Friday playlist will now feature short-form videos from its editorial team, who will share their thoughts on the biggest new releases.
Rolling out first to free and premium users in the US, you can find publisher videos by scrolling through Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist of the latest releases. We contacted Spotify to ask if and when these videos would be released in other regions, and a spokesperson told us the following:
“At this time, we are focused on establishing and producing editor-led videos in the U.S. We will share any updates on expansion plans if and when they become available.”
In addition to sharing their insights, the Spotify team will also spotlight emerging artists and dive into the stories behind new songs and albums. It builds on Spotify’s in-app experience, The Drop Weekly, where editors break down new releases and discuss cultural moments. This experiment was rolled out in the United States in September 2025, but has not yet been rolled out globally.
Not only does this give Spotify playlist curators the opportunity to share their recommendations front and center, but it also opens the door for music fans to make connections and understand the minds that work hard to bring Spotify’s playlists together.
John Stein, Head of Editorial for North America at Spotify, details this in the company’s announcement:
“New Music Friday has always been about helping fans discover the best new music every week. By bringing our editors directly into the experience, we give listeners a deeper connection with the people behind the playlist and more context around the artists and songs shaping culture right now.”
I bet most of you rolled your eyes when you played a “short video” and thought, “Really, Spotify? If it makes you feel better, so does I. I can’t remember the last time I used Spotify’s video tools to find new music, but I think there might be something different with its New Music Friday upgrade.
One thing missing from music platforms is a journalistic perspective on music. Although Spotify’s About Song feature is handy for playing flash summaries of a track’s background, this information is collected from third-party sites and compressed into something you can read in seconds.
With videos from these publishers, this could bring a lot of value to one of Spotify’s most visited editorial playlists. Not only does this open the door for you to learn more about the stories, but it also puts faces on the brains of the music geeks who put together the playlist and how they think about what music to recommend.
I spend a lot of my time scouring Wikipedia pages, online magazines, and even Genius lyrics to get my musical trivia, and while Spotify’s New Music Friday videos won’t replace those practices anytime soon, I’m sure they’ll be a welcome addition to my music research schedule.
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