YouTube music testing ‘Samples’ tab to showcase music video-focused shorts

The company is not using the YT Shorts icon in the bottom bar, rather, users will find two overlapping play buttons.

San Francisco: Google-owned YouTube is reportedly testing a ‘Samples’ tab in its Music app, which might show music video-focused Shorts.

YouTube Music’s bottom bar on Android and iOS has consisted of Home, Explore, and Library for several years and now it is testing a ‘Samples’ tab between the main and discovery/trending feeds that shows vertical music videos, according to 9to5Google.

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The company is not using the YT Shorts icon in the bottom bar, rather, users will find two overlapping play buttons.

The album art, song name, and artist information are displayed at the bottom, with buttons on the right edge for liking, adding (to something), “Shorts,” sharing, and possibly playing.

The YT Music logo is visible in the top-left corner, the report said.

However, at this point, it is unclear if these are YouTube Shorts or just music videos in a vertical format, the report added.

Meanwhile, YouTube has announced that it will introduce 30-second non-skip ads on connected TVs (CTVs), replacing the two 15-second consecutive ads.

“We’re bringing 30-second non-skips to YouTube Select on CTV,” YouTube said in a blogpost.

The company said that running longer-form creative on the big screen aligns with advertisers’ objectives, and allows for richer storytelling.