Hello, my lovely followers! Today, Spotify is shaking things up with the introduction of online courses for its UK users. This new experiment will offer video-based lessons from various providers like BBC Maestro, Skillshare, Thinkific, and PlayVirtuoso directly within the Spotify app on mobile and desktop.

While online courses may seem like an unexpected addition to a music streaming service, Spotify’s product director Mohit Jitani explains that they noticed a growing interest in educational content among users. With about half of its Premium subscribers engaging with educational podcasts, Spotify saw an opportunity to expand its offerings.

These courses cover a range of topics including music production, creativity, business skills, and wellness. Users can access them through a new icon on the home screen of the mobile app or through the search and browse interfaces. The goal is to make learning more accessible and convenient for Spotify’s audience.

Spotify is adopting a freemium model for these courses, allowing both free and premium subscribers to access a few video lessons for free before requiring payment for the full course. While purchases can’t be made directly in the app on iOS due to Apple’s rules, Android users can buy courses through email links.

Course content will be subject to Spotify’s platform policies, with a reporting mechanism in place for users to flag any inappropriate material. While this experiment is currently limited to the UK, it’s interesting to consider how online learning could factor into Spotify’s future subscription plans, including the rumored “Supremium” tier.