Spotify is now allowing more content creators to publish video podcasts on the platform. The streaming service has been experimenting with video podcasts since last fall, but starting today, all creators in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K can upload their video content to Spotify through Anchor.

“Visual interactions allow fans to get to know their favorite podcast hosts even better, and allow creators to connect with their audiences in a much deeper way,” Spotify announced yesterday. Video podcasts are also getting support for Spotify’s existing interactive capabilities such as polls and Q&A.

Creators interested in growing their audience will also get access to video-specific analytics, and video podcasts can also be embedded on any webpage, just like a YouTube video. Spotify will also be enabling subscriptions for video podcasts, which will allow podcasters to get a recurring stream of revenue and create exclusive content for their subscribers.

In recent years, Spotify has been making big investements in podcasts to encourage users to spend more time in the app. With video podcasts, the platform is taking another step to compete with YouTube, and it will have one advantage on mobile devices with background playback, a feature that requires a Premium subscription on YouTube.

“If you want to stick to the pure audio experience, that’s great too—video on Spotify is backgroundable for all listeners, so you can immerse yourself in the content when you want to, or simply lean back and just listen,” Spotify emphasized.

Tagged with podcasts, Spotify, Spotify Podcasts