Articles · Content
Spotify Killed Clips. What Replaced It Can Boost Your Streams 64%.
The Set Newsroom · Wed Sep 30 2026
Spotify quietly shut down Clips and replaced it with full-length video uploads, a global music video chart, and data showing a 64% jump in streams after someone watches.
Spotify just changed what kind of video it wants from you, and most artists haven't noticed yet.
On June 17, 2026, Spotify ended new uploads to Clips, the 30-second looping videos artists had been posting to their profiles since 2023. The same day, it opened a beta letting artists upload full-length videos instead: live performances, studio sessions, covers, official music videos. A month later, on July 21, it added two more pieces: a video pitching tool so artists can submit videos for editorial playlist consideration, and Music Video Charts Global, Spotify's first chart built entirely around music videos. Spotify Support Spotify for Artists Music Business Worldwide
This isn't a small feature swap. Spotify is telling you, directly, that it wants to compete with YouTube for your video content, and it's willing to pay you in streams to get it.
What actually happened, in order
- June 17, 2026: Clips stopped accepting new uploads. Old Clips content stays visible for now, but the format is done. Spotify Support
- June 17, 2026: Full-length video uploads opened in beta inside Spotify for Artists, under a new "Video & Visuals" tab. Nearly 100,000 artists had access at launch. Spotify for Artists Music Ally
- July 21, 2026: Spotify added a Video Pitching Tool for editorial consideration, plus Music Video Charts Global, a daily top 50 chart for music videos worldwide. The first No. 1 was Shakira and Burna Boy's World Cup song "Dai Dai," which had already passed 130 million Spotify streams. Music Business Worldwide Billboard Pro
The numbers Spotify is using to sell you on this
Spotify's own data, published on its artist blog, is blunt about why this matters:
- After someone watches your video, they stream that song 64% more over the next three weeks.
- Video viewers are 1.4x more likely to save, share, or playlist the track.
- An artist's entire catalog gets streamed 57% more after a video watch.
- An artist's biggest fans, "super listeners," stream 62% more after watching, adding 100+ extra minutes over three weeks. Spotify for Artists
"One thing we've seen consistently is that streaming videos leads to more listening," Spotify said in the announcement. Spotify for Artists That's the company talking, not a named executive, but the data behind it is real, and it's the whole reason this feature exists.
What you can actually upload
Spotify's specs are specific: landscape 16:9, at least 1920x1080, longer than 30 seconds, under 20 minutes, under 50GB. Visualizers, lyric videos, multi-song concert films, and music-free videos are not allowed. Spotify Support Anything that meets spec is royalty-bearing, meaning it can generate streams like a normal track.
The catch nobody's saying out loud
Getting into the Video Pitching Tool isn't automatic, and eligibility for full uploads is still rolling out gradually, not open to every artist yet. The playlist-pitching window only counts videos for songs that are unreleased or released within the last 7 days, so this rewards planning a video around a release, not uploading old footage whenever you get around to it. Music Business Worldwide
There's also a quality bar that didn't exist with Clips. A 30-second loop forgave a shaky phone video. A full-length upload sitting next to official music videos on a chart doesn't. If your only footage is a blurry rehearsal clip, it's not going to compete for a chart slot or an editorial pitch, even though it's technically eligible.
Why Spotify is doing this now
This is Spotify picking a fight it thinks it can win. YouTube has owned music video discovery for two decades, and Spotify has spent years trying to keep listeners inside its own app instead of tabbing over to watch something. Clips was a soft version of that bet: short, low-effort, low-reward. Full-length video with a real chart and real editorial placement is Spotify saying it wants to be a genuine second home for your video content, not just your audio. Music Ally
For independent artists, that's an opening. Competing for placement on YouTube's homepage against major-label budgets is close to impossible. Competing for one of 50 daily slots on a brand-new Spotify chart, while the feature is still new and adoption is still low, is a much more winnable game right now. Early movers get outsized attention before every artist figures this out and the chart gets as crowded as everything else.
What to do this week
- Check Spotify for Artists under Video & Visuals to see if you have beta access yet. If not, get on the waitlist now, before your next release.
- Stop shooting for Clips. Reshoot or re-edit your next performance, session, or music video at 16:9, 1920x1080 minimum, 30 seconds to 20 minutes.
- Time your next video upload to land within 7 days of a single or EP release, so it's eligible for editorial video pitching and you catch the streaming lift while your release is already getting attention.
- Treat this like a real production, not a leftover clip. A short performance video shot with decent light and sound will beat a long, rough one every time a curator or the chart algorithm is deciding what to feature.
Where The Set fits
If you need a real video shot and edited, not a phone clip, The Set's video and photo services can get you something that actually meets Spotify's new specs, and marketing services can help you time the drop right. If you're still figuring out your release cadence in general, read how one artist stopped doing everything every day and started finishing things.
Spotify didn't ask permission before it killed Clips. It's not going to wait for you to catch up either. The artists who upload real video this month get the chart, the pitching tool, and the 64% bump. Everyone else just finds out about it later, from someone else's article.
Questions
What happened to Spotify Clips?
Spotify stopped accepting new uploads to Clips, its 30-second video feature, on June 17, 2026, and replaced it with full-length video uploads for artists.
Can independent artists upload full-length videos to Spotify?
Yes, through the Video & Visuals tab in Spotify for Artists, currently rolling out in beta to a growing number of artists.
Does posting a video on Spotify actually increase streams?
Spotify's own data shows viewers stream the watched song 64% more over the next three weeks, and an artist's full catalog gets streamed 57% more.
What video formats does Spotify not allow?
Visualizers, lyric videos, multi-song concert films, and videos without music are not accepted; videos must be 16:9, at least 1920x1080, between 30 seconds and 20 minutes, and under 50GB.
How do I get my video considered for a Spotify playlist?
Use Spotify's Video Pitching Tool inside Spotify for Artists, and submit a video for a song that's unreleased or released within the last 7 days to qualify.