Spotify, which provides 70 million tracks and 2.2 million podcast titles for $10 a month, has a lot to offer music fans. (Or free if you don't mind a few adverts.) Here's how to maximize your next music-streaming experience.
Streaming has taken over the music industry, and Spotify is at the center of it all. The desktop and smartphone platforms for the music-streaming service have grown significantly in recent years, becoming more predictive and customized while including an ever-expanding library of music and podcast material.
The ideas below primarily relate to Spotify Premium, which costs $9.99 per month, but free users have certain alternatives as well. Continue reading for a list of all the hidden and not-so-hidden tools you can use to take your music streaming to the next level.
1. Playlist Assisted
You can make playlists on mobile devices for a long time, but AI-backed "assisted playlisting" employs machine learning to produce more personalized playlists. When you create a new playlist, the Spotify app will evaluate the words you provide as the playlist name to provide music recommendations. As you add music to the playlist, the app updates the recommendations in real-time to provide more personalized choices based on the songs you've previously added.
2. Folders are useful for organizing Playlists
You can not only organize music into playlists, but you can also organize playlists into playlist folders. Select the three-dot menu on the upper left of the desktop and then File > New Playlist Folder. In the left-hand column, a new folder will emerge. After you've given it a name, you may drag other playlists into and out of these collapsible containers. It's worth noting that clicking on the folder displays all of the tunes from the sub-playlists. Folders can even be nested inside other folders.
3. Discover and Save
Do you require fresh music? Start with the Browse and Radio features on the upper left of the desktop. Spotify will also add a new batch of 30 tracks to your Discover Weekly playlist every Monday. Spotify robots choose songs based on your listening behavior. On PC, look for it under Browse > Discover; favorite it to have it appear under Playlists. On your mobile device, go to Home and scroll down to Made for [your username]. If you discover something interesting, remember to keep it because Discover Weekly gets changed with a new playlist every week. Select Add to Playlist by right-clicking or tapping the three-dot symbol.
4. Daily Mixes
Perhaps no tool exemplifies Spotify's effort toward customization more than Daily Mixes, which bring up constantly changing playlists based on prior listening as well as songs you've favorited or added to playlists, often grouped by genre. It's a good blend of music you already know you enjoy and a built-in discovery process for discovering new tunes. On mobile, Daily Mix playlists feature unlimited skips if you have Spotify Free. Look for Made For You in the left-hand menu on desktop and Made for [your name] in the Home tab on mobile.
5. Offline music and podcasts can be downloaded
If you have Spotify Premium, you can listen to podcasts, albums, or playlists (but not individual songs) offline. Go to the material you wish to download on the desktop and turn on the Download button in the upper right. When a playlist is downloaded, a green arrow appears next to it, suggesting that you may listen to it offline. Hit the downward-facing arrow on mobile; for playlists, choose the three dots and tap Download. To save data, navigate to Settings > Audio Quality > Download. Check that the Cellular function is turned off. Downloads will only occur while you are connected to Wi-Fi.
(Note: If you go offline, you must reconnect at least once a month for Spotify to authenticate your account.) This prevents you from downloading a large volume of music to a device, canceling your Spotify account, and listening to that music indefinitely.)
6. Data Saver Mode
Data Saver Mode is an optional mobile app feature for streamers who are concerned about data use. Tap Data Saver from the app's gear icon and toggle it on or off. Data Saver stores data from recently played songs on your smartphone, allowing it to use less data when streaming music. Spotify claims it can cut data use by up to 75%, but if you have an unlimited data plan, you can turn this off and keep that on-device storage space.
7. Create Playlists for Collaboration
Right-click on any playlist on the left side of your screen, and a pop-up box will appear with the option to create a Collaborative Playlist. When you do this, a little halo icon appears above the folder's icon. Once a playlist is labeled collaborative, any of your friends who have access to it can add or remove music. If your friends' bad music becomes too much for you, you may disable this feature at any moment.
8. Quickly Search Within Playlists
While Search will help you navigate Spotify's massive collection, the Filter option will allow you to rapidly sift through any playlist. Simply press Command-F on a Mac or Control-F on a PC to activate a search window atop your current playlist. The filter can discover what you're searching for in your current playlist if you start typing what you're looking for—artist, song title, or album. On iOS, inside a playlist, drag down slightly from the top of the screen to reveal a search bar. On Android, touch the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and choose to Find in the playlist.
9. How to Recover Deleted Playlists
Have you ever unintentionally pressed "delete" on one of your playlists, as well as the pop-up box asking whether you were sure? Did you? Fortunately, Spotify has your back, my indecisive buddy, and allows you to recover your deleted playlists. Log in to your Spotify profile page and select Recover Playlists on the left to retrieve deleted playlists. To get them back, click Restore.
10. Insert Local Files
Paying a monthly charge for millions of tracks is one of the advantages of music streaming; no more purchasing individual songs or albums. These services, however, do not offer everything; if you have something in your music collection that Spotify does not, you may import local files into Spotify.
Navigate to Settings > Local Files on the desktop. Files from your computer's My Music and Downloads folders are picked by default, but you can disable them. Click Add a Source to retrieve songs from another location on your PC. Spotify accepts.mp3,.m4p (unless the video is included), and.mp4 files. (The lossless iTunes format (M4A) is not supported.)
You must be a Premium subscriber to listen to these tracks on mobile. First, load music into a playlist using the desktop app. Then launch the mobile app, navigate to the playlist containing the imported music, and tap the download button. If you're having problems, check sure your phone and computer are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
11. Streaming in the Browser
If you're using a computer that isn't yours but has an urgent need to listen to music, you can access your Spotify account through your browser. Simply log in to your account at play.spotify.com to access your entire Spotify collection, including all of your carefully prepared playlists.
12. Discover the Dirty Version
Spotify is eager to remind out that it will "make music available in whatever form it is offered to us" and would "never censor music." So, if you ever come across an album that doesn't feel quite right, scroll down and search for a pull-down box on the bottom right-hand side that says "1 More Release" or something like that. It's not always obvious, but this is usually where you'll find the "clean" and "explicit" versions of any given record.
13. Perform the Hits
A band or musician passes through many phases throughout their career, and some are definitely better than others. The "year" search modifier on Spotify allows you to bypass all the mediocre years. So, if you search Madonna with the search modifier "year:1980-1990" (no spaces), Spotify will only return her songs from the 1980s.
14. Begin a Private Session
Spotify Friend Activity allows you to share your listening habits with your friends. But if you're spending the afternoon listening to NSYNC's greatest hits and don't want to flaunt that knowledge. Change to a Private Session to temporarily disable music sharing. On the desktop, click your name in the upper right corner and then select Private Session. Navigate to Settings > Social > Private Session on mobile. Your account will stay secret unless you switch it off, restart Spotify, or leave it inactive for an "extended length of time."
15. Don't Mess With Your Spotify Wrapped
Another advantage of private listening is that it does not interfere with your Spotify Wrapped. Many people discovered in 2020 that their most-streamed music of the year comprised ambient noises they listened to while falling asleep, or countless hours of "Baby Shark" for the kids in the house. The content you listen to in a Private Session is not factored into Spotify's recommendations or Spotify Wrapped, so before you fall asleep to rain sounds for 2 hours, launch a private session. Meanwhile, if you have a Spotify Premium Family membership, download the Spotify Kids app to keep their music separate from yours.
16. Account Sharing (With Kids and Roommates)
Meanwhile, the only option to share your account is to subscribe to a Spotify Premium Family plan. And the persons with whom you share your account must all physically reside in the same location. You can't obtain a family plan and create profiles for your mother and sister who reside in different cities like you can with Netflix. Apart from having you fill in your address when joining a family plan, Spotify doesn't exactly explain how it validates that you all reside in the same spot. However, if Spotify discovers that you're lying, it will terminate your account, so it's probably not worth the trouble to attempt to fool the system. A family plan is $14.99 per month and allows for up to six accounts.
17. Upload Songs to Instagram Stories
Spotify offers an in-built feature for posting tracks to Instagram Stories for aspiring influencers. No screenshot is required. When you're listening to a song on Spotify, touch the three dots in the upper right corner of the play screen and scroll down to Share > Instagram Stories. Your Instagram app will launch with a ready-to-post Story.
18. Stream to a Different Device
Spotify app users may beam music to compatible devices on the same Wi-Fi network. This includes neighboring computers, smart speakers, consoles, and devices that support Airplay or Bluetooth. To utilize it, launch the Spotify app, choose a song, expand it to full screen, and look for the Connect button in the lower left corner. Select the device to which you wish to connect in the window that appears. Some configurations necessitate the use of a Spotify Premium account.
19. Participate in a Group Session to Listen Together
In 2020, dance events were few, which meant fewer opportunities to DJ or simply hang around and listen to music. Premium customers, on the other hand, may rock out or listen to a podcast together with a Group Session on Spotify. Click the Connect icon in the lower-left corner of the play screen. Scroll down and tap Start a group session to generate a URL that you can share with your friends and family. To join the session, have them scan the Spotify code. Everyone in the queue may then stop, play, skip, and choose music, as well as add their own.
20. While Playing, Pay Attention
Although video games offer fantastic soundtracks, there are occasions when you want to add your own music. Connect your account to your PlayStation, Xbox, or PC through the Epic Games Store to browse, listen to Spotify while playing games, and manage Spotify playback from your phone.
21. Connect to Waze and Google Maps
If you keep Google Maps navigation open while driving (or walking), you may add music to your journey without leaving the app. Open Google Maps and go to Settings > Navigation, then either Music playback controls on iOS or Show media playback controls on Android. Once your accounts are linked, a Spotify pop-up should display while you're driving, allowing you to start listening to music with a single tap.
Click the search bar at the bottom of Waze, then press the settings button, then Spotify, then turn Connect Spotify on. Once the connection is activated, a green Spotify logo will appear in the top-right corner of the Waze app. Tap here to launch the Spotify menu inside Waze (when your car is at a complete stop, please).
22. Spotify on Your Home Screen
Spotify may already be embedded into your vehicle's entertainment system. If you drive a BMW, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Mini, Polestar, Tesla, or Volvo, or if your car has Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, a Spotify app may be available on your dashboard screen. Check out Spotify's complete list of compatible vehicles here. If your vehicle isn't supported, you can connect your phone over Bluetooth.
23. Make a transition between songs
Do you want to add a crossfade between songs? Navigate to the Preferences panel on the desktop, scroll down and choose Show Advanced Settings, and then to the Playback section. Switch on the Crossfade tracks and use the slider to generate fading transitions between 1 and 12 seconds.
24. With Google's Clock App, you can wake up to Spotify
Android users may use the Google Clock app to link to Spotify and select a personalized wake-up tune from the Spotify repertoire. When you connect your Spotify account, you'll see a Spotify tab inside the Clock app with tailored song recommendations based on your recently listened to music, as well as curated Spotify morning playlists. When you turn off the alarm, the app will prompt you to "Continue Playing" as you begin your day.
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