Spotify adds editor-led video recommendations to New Music Friday for U.S. listeners

Spotify is bringing a more personal, editor-driven layer to one of its best-known music discovery destinations. Starting today for listeners in the United States, the Spotify app will show short editor-led videos inside New Music Friday, pairing the playlist’s weekly track picks with additional context from the people who curate it.

The change is designed to deepen what Spotify says has long been the playlist’s core purpose, helping fans find standout new releases each week. With the update, as users scroll through New Music Friday, they will be able to view video recommendations from Spotify editorial staff, including perspectives on tracks, rising artists, and the stories behind the songs.

Spotify is also positioning the move as a consolidation of discovery formats. The editor-led video concept is tied to The Drop Weekly, a short-form video experience Spotify introduced in September 2025. Spotify says The Drop showed strong listener response, citing more than double engagement through saves and likes associated with the editorial video format.

In the new approach, Spotify is combining the reach and influence of New Music Friday with the storytelling and recommendation format of The Drop Weekly. Spotify describes the result as a single destination, where listeners can both access a curated weekly playlist and see the editor’s thinking in video form tied to the tracks they are considering.

John Stein, Head of North America Editorial at Spotify, said the company is aiming to give listeners a closer connection to the people behind the playlist, along with more context around the artists and songs shaping culture each week. The company’s message is that discovery should not only present recommendations, but also explain why certain releases matter.

For access, Spotify said the feature is available to both Free and Premium users in the U.S. Listeners can open the Spotify mobile app and search “New Music Friday” to find the playlist, then view the editor videos as they scroll through the recommendations. Spotify also urged users to update their app to access the latest experience.

The update reflects a broader shift in music platforms toward editorially guided discovery, rather than relying solely on algorithmic recommendations and user listening history. While Spotify has long offered playlists and editorial programming, adding in-line video recommendations may further differentiate how editorial teams influence what listeners hear and how that choice is communicated.

By integrating the video storytelling into a familiar weekly routine, Spotify is effectively trying to keep users within a single, consistent workflow. New Music Friday is already an established behavior for many listeners, and embedding the curators’ perspectives directly into that experience is a way to reduce friction between “finding” music and “understanding” it.

Spotify did not provide specific rollout details beyond the start date and the U.S. audience, and it did not disclose how frequently videos will appear, whether all users will see the same videos, or how Spotify will measure engagement beyond the earlier “more than double” result it attributed to The Drop Weekly. The company also did not specify whether this will expand beyond New Music Friday or beyond the U.S. market.