Spotify’s musical richness is such that it’s simple to float along in the shallows of laptop and cellular apps.
That’s fine, of course, but if you do, you’ll miss out on a whole host of shortcuts, buried treasures, and accomplice apps that can make Spotify an even more flexible track buddy.
Want to get Spotify to play healthy tracks for your runs?
Supply the soundtrack for your PS4 video games?
Or routinely keep your Discover Weekly playlists?
Read right on to find out how you can do all of this and more.
We started with a few tricks for beginners, but you’ll also learn how to set up Spotify at home, how to make Spotify your running companion, how to buy Spotify for your car, how to use Spotify even better, and which new Spotify apps and accessories you’ll love.
Let us start with the fine tuning…
1) Make playlist folders your own.
After a few years of using Spotify, your playlists can end up in a chaotic mess, with many of them jumbled together in no discernible order.
Bring order to your playlists by dragging them into named folders, which you can create by clicking File > New Playlist Folder within the Laptop app. That’s better.
2) Narrow down your search.
Just typing an artist’s name into the search box can give you too many effects to count. But you can identify your search laser by using the term “Year:” and then making a selection like “1990-1994”. You can also use modifiers like “and”, “or”, and “no longer” for specifics like collaborations.
Who would have thought that typing ‘Jay Z+Chris Martin’ and ‘R Kelly+Celine Dion’ could create search effects? Granted, these are not appropriate effects now, but at least you now have the option!
3) Go offline
Streaming can gobble up your data. Therefore, use the Spotify download feature when you are on Wi-Fi. In the mobile app, click the slider next to “Available Offline” on a track, album or playlist and the file will be saved to your phone.
This feature is very useful when traveling abroad. However, for longer trips, keep in mind that you need to connect your phone to Spotify servers every 30 days for offline mode to continue working.
4) Rescue deleted playlists.
If you have hastily deleted a beloved playlist, you can retrieve it from the virtual trash bin of doom.
In an internet browser, go to your account web page and click on the “Recover Playlists” alternative on the left. Simply click “Restore” for all the lists you want back.
5) Improve the sound quality.
Even though Spotify is not popular among audiophiles (Tidal might be better for them), as a premium customer you can increase the default streaming bitrate (96-160 kbps, depending on your device and connection) to a very good 320 kbps.
Yes, you will certainly notice the difference.
6) Share pricing with your Spotify family.
If you are looking to cut down on Spotify Premium prices, the provider’s Family Plan is for you.
For just £14.99 per month (a maximum of a fiver more than a single Premium account), you get up to 6 separate Premium bills that you can split among your loved ones.
Each account has its own library, playlists and offline tracks.
7) Import your tracks.
If you open the Settings in the Spotify laptop app and scroll all the way down to the Local Files section, you’ll be able to import all of your track documents from iTunes, Folders, and numerous other sources – even though they are now not in Spotify’s own library.
A wonderful way to add this Romanian grindcore band from the 80s to your collection.
8) Add sound to your PS4 video games.
Want to update Bloodborne’s atmospheric orchestral score with Chas & Dave or explore Fallout 4’s desert to the dulcet tones of Megadeth?
No problem – just activate the PS4’s Spotify-enabled PlayStation Music mode and you can accompany your video games with any album or playlist, either via the console itself or a linked device like your phone or tablet.
9) DJ with your gaming buddies.
Spotify has also teamed up with gaming voice and text chat provider Discord to offer game fans who connect with their bills a number of track-related features.
Once bills are paired, you can share what you are listening to on Spotify with your Discord friends, who can then play the track on their own device by tapping the button.
Even better, they can even join you live and turn you into a game DJ (NB: you need a Spotify Premium account for this last feature).
10) Peek in the back of the lyrics
Annoying could-be domestic karaoke fanatics everywhere, Spotify currently eliminated the real-time lyrics show from its laptop app. Bummer.
In its area comes the brand new Behind The Lyrics function, created in affiliation with Genius – and even as it’s possibly now no longer as beneficial or amusing because the vintage mode, and presently best to be had on a handful of tracks thru the cellular app, it’s nonetheless really well worth a appearance.
You can get entry to Behind The Lyrics with the aid of using dragging down at the art work of supported tracks, whereupon you’ll be dealt with to a combination of lyrics and real-time annotations.
It’s an thrilling peek into what’s possible – it simply wishes to be rolled out to cowl a good deal greater of Spotify’s library.
11) Spoti-hi-fi
Listening thru tinny laptop audio system? Tsk. A Chromecast Audio (£30) lets in any vintage hi-fi or set of audio system to be changed into a wi-fi Spotify streamer, controllable out of your telecellsmartphone, pill or laptop.
Alternatively, purchase a speaker with Spotify Connect, and you’ve were given that capability constructed proper in.
Got a Sonos speaker (or perhaps a gaggle of them, if you’re lucky) at domestic? Then you’ll be capable of manage it direct from any tool walking the Spotify cellular app – although you’re now no longer presently on your private home Wi-Fi network.
And any Spotify app-the use of site visitors can hop on and play their very own library while not having to down load the Sonos app.
Spotify is the primary track provider to get those sort of rich, integrated Sonos controls – appearance out for them thru an October software program update.
12) Speak ‘n Spotify
Do you have a smart speaker with voice control? Chances are it works with your Spotify Premium account.
That way, you can request songs, artists, playlists and genres through the thankfully human medium of spoken word.
The Amazon Echo family, Sonos One, KitSound Voice One, Sony LF -S50G, Harman Kardon Invoke, and Eufy Genie are all good for Spotify Premium, while Google Home goes a step further and also works with Spotify Free.
The Apple HomePod unfortunately no longer supports full Spotify voice control, but when streaming from your phone or laptop as an AirPlay speaker, it will respond to simple instructions like pause, play and skip.
13) Run to the beat
Unfortunately, Spotify Running, a built-in premium feature that played tunes to match your current running pace, was removed from the mobile app.
Without explanation or warning, Spotify disappointed many runners by doing so. However, there are still a few methods to get a suitable audio accompaniment for your daily jog.
Tap “Workout” in the app display under Genres & Moods and you’ll get a few pre-made playlists based on unique BPMs.
The app is not nearly as simple as the ancient feature, as you’ll have to train yourself how to convert your jogging pace into BPM, but it’s better than nothing.
14) Record and listen
Do you want to record your run as well? Runkeeper is your training buddy here, recently adding full Spotify integration to its app so you can manage playback and quick transfers if you want to extract playlists.
15) Talk and sprint.
When you are on Spotify and need to extract a track, not browsing your playlists or entering a search period is a sure way to throw you off.
Not so with the Apple Watch’s Joy app (download it from iTunes) – just say the name of a track and it plays. Your phone stays in your pocket.
16) Boost Uber.
Many Uber cabs now have Spotify integration, meaning you can control your ride’s music from the backseat – and without using up your cellular data.
Just connect your Uber and Spotify accounts to get started – you can try it out in the Uber app or on the Uber website.
17) Perfect car integration.
If your car stereo is compatible with Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, you can rejoice: you have integrated Spotify into your car.
Connect your phone to your car stereo via USB and you can choose between Spotify Radio, Your Music and New Releases by tapping on the display – plus use the (limited) voice control.
18) Connecting an older car
Do not forget: older, “dumber” car stereos can also join Spotify.
You’ll need a 3.5mm aux input, a stereo with Bluetooth support, or a Pure’s Highway-style accent (go figure) to connect to your stereo, even if it does not have an aux input.
19) Save your mixtapes
The Discover Weekly playlist is one of Spotify’s best features, giving you hours of eerily accurate suggestions every Monday. But after a week, it gets replaced and keeps disappearing until you manually save it.
Luckily, there’s a recipe for IFTTT that lets you routinely save each week – just click here to set it up.
20) Do not dawdle, get the Daily Mix.
The Daily Mix playlist, available in the Spotify apps for Android and iOS since September 2016, works similarly to the Discover Weekly playlist, except it (a) updates every day and (b) includes songs and artists you already have a preference for.
Depending on the nature of your musical tastes, you can discover multiple playlists that are updated daily – discover them by tapping the Your Library button in the mobile app.
21) Shazam Shortcut
We have all used the apps Shazam or SoundHound to discover an exciting song. But did you know that you can instantly add it to a Spotify playlist?
With Shazam, a button at the bottom of the song helps you open and play it in Spotify or upload it to an existing playlist.
With SoundHound, you practically scroll down a touch on the track’s display and you’ll discover a button that lets you instantly open the track in Spotify.
22) Spotify Mixes
There are quite a few apps that let you mix songs seamlessly DJ -style, but Pyro is notable because it does all the difficult work for you.
Its algorithms examine any piece of music from iTunes or Spotify and determine the BPM and the right time for an easy transition with crossfading.
Create your own playlists or select a handful of tracks and leave it to Pyro to maintain the combination with its own selection.
23) Discover Samples
Curious where that familiar drum loop, inverted voice, or riff came from?
WhoSampled is the app (available for iOS and Android) that lets you quickly remedy this problem.
It sifts through your Spotify playlists and allows you to click on any track to find out who sampled it (and at what points within the track), who sampled it, or which artists recorded it. Genius.
Want to jog to Spotify music without carrying your bulky smartphone?
Then you should get this tiny, screenless clip-on participant, which is very much based on the iPod Shuffle.
The Mighty offers 2GB of storage for offline syncing, a USB-C port, and five hours of battery life. Of course, you’ll need to be a Spotify Premium subscriber to use the Mighty, but that’s a small price to pay for unlimited jogging music.
24) Learn to code
Spotify has developed a smart way to embed playlists, tracks, albums, and artists into its mobile app: Spotify Codes.
A Spotify Code works much like a (extra elegant and simplified) QR code. It can be scanned with another user’s digital camera to add it to their library. Codes can also be scanned from other places – posters, flyers, billboards, etc. – So it’s worth keeping an eye out for them as you walk down the streets.
To display a code for sharing, tap the “…” button at the top of the display on your album, track, artist, or playlist page. The code will then be displayed as a waveform below the image.
