This guide is designed to assist you in making the most out of your Spotify subscription. By following these tips, you can ensure that you are utilizing the app to its fullest potential and taking advantage of all the features it has to offer. Whether you are a long-time Spotify user or just getting started, there may be some hidden features or tricks in this guide that will enhance your streaming experience and help you discover new favorite songs and artists.
- Download Music and Listen Offline
- Support Custom Playlist Download (Beta)
- Unlocked Previous & Next Track
- Unlocked Seeking FWD/BWD
- Unlocked/Able to Select Any Songs & Albums
How to Find Songs, Albums, and Playlists
When you open the Spotify mobile app, you will see three tabs at the bottom: Home, Search, and Your Library. By tapping on Search, you can search for artists, songs, or podcast titles. You can specify the category you are looking for when entering your query, but Spotify will help in sorting the results. For example, if you search for "Dirty Computer," the album will appear first even though it is also the title of a song on the album.
If you are just browsing and not looking for something specific, you can tap on Search and explore different categories and subcategories representing your top genres. You can also find playlists based on mood, occasion, or even TV show and movie soundtracks under the Browse All section. If you are looking for playlists you have created or saved, you can go to the Your Library tab at the bottom right.
What’s “Your Library”?
Your Library on Spotify includes all the content you have saved, such as playlists, streaming radio stations, downloaded songs, and the artists and albums you have saved. It also shows recently played songs, though they may appear as smaller album thumbnails at the bottom of the page. Saved items in Your Library make it easy to find them later, but it's important to note that saving doesn't necessarily mean the songs have been downloaded for offline listening. For more information on downloading content, refer to the section "Make Offline Listening Your Friend."
Work Playlists Like a Pro
Playlists are the most attractive feature of using Spotify. The company offers a variety of genre- or mood-specific playlists that are created by both humans and algorithms. The impact of these playlists on the music industry has grown to the point where being included in a popular Spotify playlist can make or break an artist's career. Users spend approximately half of their time on Spotify listening to curated playlists or ones they have created themselves. However, playlists can also be the most frustrating aspect of the Spotify experience.
Creating your own playlist is simple: on the mobile app, go to Your Library, then Playlists, and tap on the giant green Create Playlist tab. Once you have named and created your playlist, you can easily add individual songs or albums by tapping on the ellipses and selecting the option to add to a playlist. This process is similar on a PC, where the New Playlist button is located on the bottom left-hand side of the desktop app. Adding a playlist to your favorites is just as easy - simply find a playlist, click Follow, and it will be accessible in Your Library.
However, other playlist features are more complex. While you can add multiple albums to a playlist, you cannot do so directly within the playlist itself. Instead, you must search for the album, tap on the ellipses in the upper right-hand corner, and choose to add it to a playlist from there.
You can also create collaborative playlists, allowing you and your friends to add songs. This process involves making the playlist collaborative by going into the options, then sharing the playlist with others. When a friend saves the playlist to their own library, they can then start adding songs. On the mobile app, it may not be immediately clear who has contributed to the collaborative playlist, but the desktop app will show you.
Make Offline Listening Your Friend
Spotify offers the convenient option to download any song from its vast library to your phone, allowing you to listen to music without requiring a data or Wi-Fi connection.
If you have previously saved songs but neglected to utilize Spotify's offline listening feature before a long flight or road trip, it is crucial to understand the distinction between saving and downloading content. Saving a song merely bookmarks it, leaving it in the cloud and inaccessible offline. To avoid this mistake, ensure you download your favorite playlists for offline listening.
To download a playlist, simply go to the playlist, locate the Download option at the top, and toggle the switch. A green downward arrow icon will indicate that the playlist is available for offline listening. If you wish to download playlists using cellular data, go to Settings, then Music Quality, and enable the Download Using Cellular option.
Furthermore, downloading is not limited to playlists but also includes albums, podcasts, and individual songs on Spotify. So, make sure to download your desired content now to enjoy uninterrupted music listening on the go.
Up the Streaming Quality—or Turn It Down
When it comes to music quality, you have the ability to adjust the bitrate of your audio streams in the Settings. You can also customize settings such as volume levels, treble, and bass within the Playback tab in settings, not under Music Quality.
The audio quality options range from 24 kilobits per second to 320 kbps. A standard rate is typically 96 kbps, which may not sound fantastic to some listeners. If you are not satisfied with Spotify's audio quality, you can increase this setting until it sounds good to you.
For those who are not too concerned about sound quality and want to save on cellular data usage, there is an option in Settings called Data Saver. This feature streams music at a lower bitrate of 24 kbps when using cellular data. Once you connect to a Wi-Fi network, the audio quality will return to a normal level.
How to Let Everybody Know You’re Going Through a Breakup
If you've never delved into Spotify's social settings, you may be shocked to discover that Spotify automatically sets your music listening activities to public. Even though there is a Private Session option available, it reverts back to public after six hours of inactivity.
Unfortunately, while there are some privacy settings available, there is no option to block people from viewing your profile. This is a major oversight on Spotify's part at a time when privacy concerns are a top priority in discussions about popular tech services, especially when users are being harassed on the platform.
There are a few workarounds to address this issue. The first, albeit cumbersome, option is to enable Private Session every time you use the app. Another workaround is to create "secret" playlists and only listen to those, but be aware that any public playlists you have created or joined will still be visible unless you adjust their privacy settings.
The third option is to opt out of using Spotify altogether, which is understandable given the circumstances. There are other streaming music services available, even if they may not offer a free tier.
Let Spotify Do the Work for You
If you're still using Spotify, don't forget to make use of the playlists tailored for you by the app. Your library includes a section called "Made for You," which includes a weekly playlist, new releases, and daily mixes based on your listening habits. An annual playlist highlighting your top songs from the year is also available, providing a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
These algorithmically created playlists are a great way to explore new music and step out of your comfort zone. After all, isn't the purpose of a music service like Spotify to discover new beats rather than sticking to the same old tunes? So why not take advantage of the $10/month subscription and expand your musical horizons with these curated playlists.