Spotify's biggest strength is simple: It lets you play just about any song instantly without having to purchase or download it from a legal (or not-so-legal) source. But there are some drawbacks, too.
Licensing conflicts continue to hamper the experience for some users. Although Spotify likes to brag about its huge library, your impression of the catalog's completeness will depend entirely on your music tastes. For example, as of this writing, you won't find artists like Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica or the Beatles in the catalog (in general, the Spotify library is a very fluid thing, with songs' availability dependent on the whims of artists and record companies). If you have offbeat or even slightly eclectic music preferences, you might find that to Spotify, your favorite musicians simply don't exist.
The Set Listener combines features from the Spotify API and the API from gig database Setlist.fm to create playlists from your favorite band’s most recent show. Type in the name of a particular. Spotify is helping to make universal, instant accessibility to all music possible, whether you’re on your mobile device or desktop computer. Facebook helped people reconnect with old friends and make new ones, and Spotify’s helping people rediscover songs from their youth and discover fresh music through friends and search. Get instant music with Spotify You. The $10 I spend every month on Spotify is easily my best online purchase. On any given day I use Spotify for at least five hours. My work day, running, and traveling experiences have changed forever. Spotify’s Discovery Playlist makes Mondays exciting. And don’t get me started on their running feature that plays music that matches my pace.
×Close We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Spotify boasts a library of more than 30 million songs, meaning finding something to listen to is never tough. There are some artists, however, who continue to shun the popular streaming service. 6 things to know about the new free Spotify. The world's largest music-streaming service just amped up its freebie options. Here's what you need to know.
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Plus, many bands allow playback of only parts of their discography, so you may find a few songs by North Mississippi Allstars, but you'll be out of luck on many of their tunes. And if you're not already familiar with their back catalog, you might miss out on their best music.
Sometimes, an album will be missing only one or two songs, which are shaded in the song list. Try to play those tunes, and you'll see a message that says, 'The artist/label has chosen to make this track unavailable. If you have the file on your computer you can import it.' Instances like this could make it difficult to create complete, comprehensive playlists in Spotify.
If you upgrade to the paid services, you'll be paying every month regardless of whether you use the service or not. At $120 per year for the Premium service, that's roughly 10 to 12 albums you could buy from a vendor and actually own, instead of pushing money into Spotify's service, from which you basically rent your music (unless you decide to buy tracks from the company).
And if you like the feeling of supporting your favorite bands financially, it's worth noting that artists receive a higher cut of dough if you simply buy their album instead of paying Spotify to stream it to you. In one oft-cited example, Lady Gaga pocketed only $167 for roughly 1 million plays of her hit song 'Poker Face' on Spotify [source: Guardian].
On the other hand, Spotify is renowned for helping people find alternate or cover versions of their favorite songs. Type in 'Folsom Prison Blues,' and you'll see live versions and covers by other well-known (and not-so-well-known) musicians. In fact, one of the company's big strengths is that its reach helps lesser-known artists expose the broader world to their brand of music.
Unlike Pandora, Spotify lets you skip an unlimited number of songs, so you can always bypass the stuff that doesn't appeal to you without any hesitation. However, Spotify doesn't automatically build playlists based on your preferences, although you can connect your Spotify account to Last.fm. Spotify uses this integration to learn which songs you like best.
Spotify is jammed with other features that we haven't covered yet. On the next page, we'll give you some tips on how to access the best of this service to keep the beat thumping and your toes tapping.
The new Spotify for Android app has been widely praised (not least by me) but there were some features from the previous version that were either dropped completely or hidden away. Fear not though as there are some workarounds you can try: read on to find out how!
How to Play Local Music Files
Spotify on Android used to have a Local Files area that listed all the MP3s and other non-Spotify music files stored on your phone. You could then use Spotify like any other music player. The new version of Spotify has removed the Local Files list, but you can still play MP3s by adding them via the desktop:
- Start Spotify on your phone.
- Now start Spotify on the desktop then drag-and-drop the MP3s you want to a new playlist.
- Select your phone from the Devices list, locate the playlist then set it to sync. The MP3s will be downloaded from your PC to the phone.
Most of these mixes are MP3s downloaded from my PC to my phone.
Of course this is a bit of a long-winded workaround and might seem daft if you already have the MP3s on your phone in the first place. But it does work! Just be sure your phone is on the same WiFi network as your PC and that you let the files finish syncing before you quit Spotify on the desktop or phone.
How to Play Your Entire Library
Spotify’s Android app used to have a Library area that alphabetically listed all of the tracks in all of your playlists. People liked to play this on shuffle and it also had a handy hidden filter to search only songs you’d added (not the entire Spotify catalog). The new Spotify for Android removed the Library view for whatever reason. But you can still play your entire library if you make use of playlist folders. Here’s how:
Every playlist folder has an “All Tracks” link at the top. This lets you add all the songs in every playlists in that folder to the queue, which you can then shuffle if you like.So to play your entire library, organize your playlists something like this then click All Tracks:
Click All Tracks within any folder to play all tracks.
In this example:
- The top All Tracks link will play everything in every playlist in every folder in the folder called Folder With All My Playlists.
- If you click Folder A then click the All Tracks link in there it will play everything in every playlist in Folder A.
- If you click Folder B then click the All Tracks link in there it will play everything in every playlist in Folder B etc.
Once the first track starts you can click the Shuffle button (bottom-left) to shuffle the music.
How to Exit Spotify
The old version of Spotify on Android had an Exit option from within the app. These days most Android apps don’t bother with Exit buttons: you just use the Back button instead and let the operating system handle running apps as it sees fit. Some people really want to be able to exit Spotify though, so to do that:
- Long-press (press and hold) your phone’s Home button to display recent apps.
- Click Task Manager.
- Find Spotify in Active Applications then click Exit.
How to Set the Cache Location
Cool Spotify Features
Most Android phones let you add microSD cards to give you more storage space. With the previous version of Spotify you could tell it to cache the music on your SD card instead of the phone’s internal memory. Unfortunately there’s no in-built way to do this with the new version, but you can still set the location as follows.
There are a couple of workarounds that might work for you. Firstly, try temporarily downgrading to the old version (i.e. uninstall Spotify then install an older apk), setting the storage location like you used to (press Menu from the login screen), then upgrade to the new version again. This method worked for me!
A second option is to use a 3rd-party app called DirectoryBind to create a symbolic link from the Spotify cache folder on the phone to one on the SD card. CAUTION! This technique requires some technical knowledge as well as a rooted phone: attempt at your own risk! See this page on XDA Developers for details.
Spotify Audio Features
How To Use Spotify on Android To:
- Work in Landscape Orientation
- Add a Whole Album to an Existing Playlist
- Create a Playlist Folder
- Rearrange the Order of Playlists
- Rearrange Songs in a Playlist
- Search For a Playlist
- Search for a Song Within a Playlist