Key Takeaways
- The Myth: "Spotify is just for music and audio."
- The Reality: Spotify is aggressively competing with YouTube. They want your video.
- The Win: You don't need to choose. One file serves the driver (audio) and the viewer (video) simultaneously.
The South Bay Creator’s Guide (Part 2): The Double Agent
By Edwin Duterte & Jennifer Wolfe
Founders of The Donn Allan Experience
Previously in Part 1: We convinced you to stop using Zoom and start using a studio. You have a beautiful, cinematic video file. But now you're looking at the podcast apps on your phone—Apple, Spotify, Amazon—and wondering: "Do these things even play video?" Today, in Part 2, we explain why you are a Double Agent.
The "Radio Star" Fear
Remember the song "Video Killed the Radio Star"? For a long time, podcasters thought they had to choose. You were either a "YouTuber" (Video) or a "Podcaster" (Audio).
This split personality is exhausting. You feel like you have to make two different products for two different audiences.
We have good news: The war is over. Video won. But audio didn't die; it just became a feature.
The Technical Question:
"Does Spotify actually show the video, or just play audio?"
The Voxel Answer: It does BOTH. It’s the ultimate hybrid platform.
How "The Switch" Works
Spotify has a brilliant feature that most people don't realize exists. When you upload a video file (MP4) to Spotify via their "Spotify for Podcasters" dashboard, two things happen:
- Foreground Mode: If the user has the app open, they see your beautiful HD video filmed at Voxel. They see your facial expressions. They see your product.
- Background Mode: If the user locks their phone or puts it in their pocket to go for a run on The Strand, the video seamlessly cuts off, and the audio keeps playing without skipping a beat.
You are serving the "Lean Back" audience (watchers) and the "Lean Forward" audience (active listeners) with zero extra work.
Case Study: The San Pedro Musician
Imagine a local musician or artist in the Arts District. Visuals are everything. They need you to see the guitar, see the painting, see the emotion.
If they only uploaded audio to Spotify, they would lose 50% of the impact. If they only uploaded video to YouTube, they would lose the commuters on the 110 Freeway.
By recording a video podcast at Voxel Micro Video Labs, they create a "Double Agent" asset. It infiltrates every device in the South Bay, adapting to however the user wants to consume it.
The Voxel File Standard
At Voxel, we export your files specifically for this hybrid world.
We ensure the audio is "Broadcast Loudness" (so it sounds good in a car) while color-grading the video (so it looks good on a 4K TV). You walk out with one file that rules them all.