How Spotify Works

Have you ever heard of Spotify? This is the most famous music streaming service in the world that allows you to access thousands of music tracks (Italian and international and from any era) from your computer, smartphone and tablet (and more!) Without having to buy songs or albums individually. All this in a completely legal way, it should be emphasized.

How do you say? Were you already aware of all this and now would you like to investigate the matter so that you can fully understand how Spotify works? Well, if that’s the case, I’m happy to let you know that you’ve come to the right place, or rather the right guide. Today we are going to find out together how to use the most talked-about music streaming service of the moment. Don’t worry, it’s super simple and I’m sure you’ll realize it yourself little by little.

So if you are actually interested in finding out how Spotify works, I suggest you take a few minutes of free time, get comfortable and concentrate on reading this tutorial. I bet that in the end you will be able to feel more satisfied and that, if necessary, you will also be ready to provide all the necessary explanations to your friends in need of similar tips. That said, let’s ban the chatter and move on.

Index

• Spotify compatible devices and pricing
• How Spotify Works on Computer
• How Spotify works on smartphones and tablets
• How to manage Spotify account
• How Spotify Works for Artists
• How Spotify Codes Works

Spotify compatible devices and pricing

Before explaining how Spotify works, it seems only right to talk about compatible devices and the prices of the service.

Well, Spotify is available not only for Windows and Mac computers (also in the Web version, which can be used from any of the most popular browsers) and for all major mobile platforms ( Android and iOS / iPadOS ), but it can also be exploited on various other devices. Here are some examples.

• Smartwatch– Android Wear, Apple Watch and Samsung smartwatch.
• Chromecast– All models.
• Gameconsole – PS3, PS4 and PS5 .
• Audio systems and Smart TVs– some audio systems (such as the Sonos Play 1 speaker ) and some Smart TVs include support for Spotify. In any case, it will be possible to use an app for Smart TV, after connecting the TV to the Internet, installing the Spotify app on the Smart TV itself, or by associating a device (for example smartphone, tablet or computer) on which the Spotify app. For more details, read my guide on how to connect Spotify to TV.
• Smart Home devices– maybe you know Alexa, the virtual assistant that can be activated with voice commands, present on Echo devices, the now well-known speakers for the Smart Home produced by Amazon: well, it is possible to connect a Spotify Premium account with Echo devices. To know how, read my guide on how to connect Spotify to Alexa.

Find the complete list of compatible devices on the Spotify official website. To underline, then, the Spotify Connect function, which allows you to switch playback from one device to another (as long as Spotify is running with the account logged in) and to control playback on various devices by acting from the same. application.

Regardless of the device on which the service is used and except for a few small differences in operation between one and the other, the basic version of Spotify is completely free, thanks to the support of advertisements, but on mobile it limits listening. a lot of content to shuffle mode only. It also does not allow the playback of music in high quality (320 kbps) and does not allow the use of the service on devices such as the Amazon Echo.

To take full advantage of all its functions (and get rid of advertising interruptions) you need to subscribe to a monthly or annual subscription.

• Spotify Free (free)– Allows you to listen to all the songs in the Spotify catalog with commercial breaks. On a smartphone, it limits listening to music to shuffle mode, so you choose a song or artist and the app creates an automatic playlist from which, after a maximum of 6 skips per hour, you cannot “escape”. Streaming quality is limited to 160 kbps and offline music cannot be downloaded.
• Spotify Premium (9.99 euros/month or 119.88 euros/year)– Allows you to listen to all the songs in the Spotify catalog, from any device and without commercial interruptions. It also allows you to download music offline (up to 3,333 songs per device on a maximum of 3 devices), to activate streaming in high quality at 320kbps and to take advantage of a special function to play music through speakers, TV, laptop or other devices, using the Spotify app from your phone or tablet as a real remote control.
• Spotify Premium Duo (12.99 euros/month)– the Duo subscription allows you to have two Spotify Premium accounts and features like Duo Mix, a regularly updated playlist with the music that both users love.
• Spotify Family (from € 15.99 / month)– Allows family members of Spotify Premium users to open an account with a 50% discount. It supports up to a maximum of 5 people.
• Spotify Student (€ 4.99 per month for one year, then converts to Spotify Premium, or Individual, for € 9.99 per month)– Student membership is reserved for a single account for students enrolled in accredited universities. For those of them who have never tried the Premium subscription, the first month is free. Up to 3 renewals with student status are allowed, upon their expiry and, in any case, after 12 months the subscription automatically converts to Spotify Individual. With Spotify Student it will be possible to listen to music without commercial interruptions, download songs offline and play them on demand. You may also be interested in reading my guide on how to pay for Spotify with 18app .

There are also telephone offers that include Spotify Premium (often at a discounted price) and promotions for those who decide to return to Spotify after canceling their subscription for a few months. To find out more, check out my guide on how to get Spotify Premium for free.

New users can also activate a free trial of Spotify Premium lasting 30 days (sometimes even more, depending on the promos in progress): just select the appropriate item in the program and provide the details of a valid payment method (e.g. credit card or PayPal). Initially no amount is charged but if you let the trial period pass without deactivating your subscription, obviously, the automatic renewal is triggered and then the cost of the subscription is taken (which, of course, allows you to obtain, from time to time in time, an additional 30 days of Premium service). If you need more details about the subscription forms available to use Spotify and payments, you can consult the relevant FAQ section attached to the official website of the service.

How Spotify Works on Computer

If you want to try Spotify by installing it on your computer, just to start connected to the program’s website and click on the Download button which is located at the top right. On the page that opens, choose whether to create your account on Spotify in the traditional way, that is by entering your data in the form that opens and providing your email address, or whether to log in via Facebook by pressing the appropriate button Sign up with Facebook. I recommend the second option, so you can take full advantage of all the social features of the service and share the songs you listen to with your Facebook friends. In both cases, remember to put the checkmark next to the item I agree to the Spotify Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Once logged in via Facebook or created an account on Spotify using your email, the download of the most suitable software for the type of operating system in use starts automatically. So wait for the download to finish and then open the file you just downloaded on your computer ( SpotifySetup.exe on Windows or Install Spotify on OS X) and wait a few seconds for the software to be installed.

When the window to log in to Spotify appears, click the Log in with Facebook button if you have signed up for the service through your social profile or type in the email address and password you have previously chosen. Well, you are now officially in Spotify!

At its start, the software will ask you if this is the first time you use Spotify and if you want to show what you listen to on Facebook: set this option according to your preferences (you can always retrace your steps at any time) and press the Is button. the first time I use Spotify to access the main program window.

Now let’s briefly analyze the Spotify interface to discover its main features and get a little familiar with them.

• At the top left there is the search icon through which to find albums, songs, artists and playlists and view the suggestions that Spotify creates for you based on your listening;
• At the top right there is the icon to add friends and, below, a box where you can view their listening activities. There is also an item that is used to manage the account (your photo and the arrow pointing down next to it).
• At the bottom are the buttons to control music playback and the volume adjustment bar.
• On the left there is a navigation menu for quick access to all sections of Spotify and the music saved in your library (songs, albums and playlists).

In short, it’s all very intuitive. It will take you a few minutes of use to find yourself at ease and master all the functions of Spotify, I just give you some useful “tips”.

• If you have subscribed to a Premium subscription and want to listen to music at the highest possible quality, click on the down arrow in the top right next to your photo, click on Settings, locate the Audio quality section and in the drop-down menu under correspondence choose the Very high item, if you wish also go to the Download item, just below and set the Very high option here from the drop-down menu. But be careful, this preference involves an important consumption of bandwidth by the application, it is recommended only if you have a fast enough connection.
• If you do not want your plays to appear in the feed of your contacts, click on the down arrow located next to your photo in the upper right and select the Private session item from the menu that opens.

Playlists deserve a separate discussion. Depending on what your needs and preferences are, playlists can be private, public or shared. Among the “highlights” of Spotify are the playlists automatically generated on a daily ( Daily Mix ) and weekly (eg Discover Weekly ) basis based on the interests and ratings of the user.

Private playlists are viewable and customizable only by the user who created them, public playlists are accessible by everyone but can only be modified by those who created them while shared playlists can be viewed and modified by a selected group of users. To adjust the privacy level of a playlist, right-click on its title in the Spotify sidebar. To create a new playlist, select a song or album to add to it, click on the button (…) located next to its title, select the Add to playlist item and then click on New playlist from the menu that opens.

Also in this regard, I would like to point out that Spotify Premium users can also download playlists offline. To activate this function, all you have to do is select the content of your interest (from your library, not via the Spotify search bar), click on the (…) button and select from the menu that is shown the item Available offline. If you want to know more, check out my tutorial on how to download songs from Spotify.

Also keep in mind that Spotify plays are synchronized on all devices. This means not only that you will find the same albums, the same songs and the same playlists on all your devices, but also that you can pause the listening on your computer and continue it on your smartphone (or vice versa). Just start the application and click on the appropriate item located below.

How Spotify works on smartphones and tablets

In addition to computers, Spotify is also available for Android smartphones and tablets (or on alternative stores, if you do not have Google services) and for iPhone / iPad. You can download it for free on all platforms but of course it provides the features based on the type of subscription active on your account.

Its interface is very similar to that of the desktop application, so there isn’t much to explain. For reasons of screen space the layout of the menus changes a little but I assure you that everything remains very intuitive.

In fact, the app opens with the Home menu, through which you can discover the most interesting news of the moment, the charts and new releases and the recommended audio contents. To access the search function and the contents of your music library, press the appropriate icons located at the bottom.

To access the menus relating to settings and notifications, you must first press on the Home item, present at the bottom and then on the gear icon located at the top right for settings, or on your photo to see, for example, the your followers.

If, on the other hand, you are interested in activating the private session and temporarily hiding your listening to other users, you must access the app settings as I have just reported to you, then you must press on the Social item and you must turn ON the lever of the Private session option.

Using the Spotify app for mobile devices, it is then possible to activate offline playback of both playlists, almost similar to what can be done using the computer client, and albums. In the case of playlists, first find a song or album to add to your playlist, press the button (…) located next to its title and select the Add to playlist item from the menu that opens. At this point you can choose whether to add the content to an existing playlist or create a new one. Then go to the Your app library section, press the Playlist item, select the playlist to save offline and then use the icon with three dots (… ) To open the next screen and, in the list of items, select the Download option. As for the albums, look for them, press the button with the arrow under their cover image. When the download is complete you will find your albums by accessing the Your library section of the app and then pressing on Album.

To access the synchronized listening instead (if there were any, of course) just start the application and press the appropriate icon located at the bottom. Easier than that?

How to manage Spotify account

At the beginning of the guide I told you that new Spotify subscribers can try the Premium plan of the service for free for 30 days and without obligation to renew. To avoid the automatic renewal of the subscription or in the event that you have subscribed to a Premium subscription and have changed your mind, follow the instructions below to avoid money being stolen from you.

Connect to your Spotify account online (if necessary log in to the service) then click on your name located at the top right and then select the Account item attached to the menu that is shown to you. On the Web page that opens, select the Change plan item, then, on the page that opens, scroll to find the free subscription box and, inside it, click on the Cancel Premium subscription button and follow the instructions on screen.

If you encounter any difficulties during the procedure, you can follow the instructions in my tutorial on how to disable Spotify to deal with it.

How Spotify Works for Artists

Most of the time Spotify is thought of as a music or podcast user, but how will we be able to listen to all this without the singers, bands and readers uploading their songs to the platform? So here’s how Spotify for artists works.

To begin with, you need to know that to get a Spotify artist profile you will have to perform some preliminary operations: the first of all, of course, is to have songs, music tracks or stories that you want to share with the public, even better if they can be part of it. of a collection or album.

The second thing needed to get to publish music on Spotify is to go through a distribution service. You will find several distribution services on the Web, usually for a fee (there are also free ones, perhaps a little less performing), but with often very popular access quotas, able to allow even emerging talents to land. on Spotify. The platform itself recommends some distribution services, within the official website in the version for artists.

So, if you produce music and audio content, these are the first steps to be able to take advantage of Spotify for artists: take into account that, in any case, it could take several days before you see your songs on the most famous audio streaming platform in the world. , due to publication times related to the distribution service and to those, if any, for requesting a verified artist profile on Spotify. To find out how, then, connect to the official Spotify site for artists and read my guides on how to create a Spotify artist account, how to publish on Spotify and how to upload podcasts to Spotify.

Consider that, if you are really willing to break into the world of music or podcast, with Spotify you can also earn: you will have to increase your followers, read and interpret the statistics you will have access to and identify the right target for your audio content. In this regard, read my guides on how to grow on Spotify and how to increase ratings on Spotify.

How Spotify Codes Works

Do you often feel like sharing the music tracks and podcasts you stream with your friends? For sure, therefore, you will be interested in knowing how Spotify Codes, Spotify’s QR Code system, works.

If you don’t know what Spotify Codes is, know that it is a function present in the app version of the well-known platform to make the sharing experience of the pieces more interactive, making them easier to reach and listen to. So, in the meantime, read the chapter on how Spotify works on smartphones and tablets to find out how to download the Spotify app for mobile devices.

Once this is done, select the song you want to listen and publish, for example on a social channel or in the chat of your friends and touch the icon with three dots in the menu. In the next screen, you will see the artwork corresponding to the piece with a sort of barcode underneath.

At this point, you can save the image in your photo gallery on your device and share it. Once published, other users who use Spotify will be able to access their account, then, from the Home screen, touch the lens symbol ( Search ), displaying the camera icon on the next screen, located at the top right. Selecting it will activate, in fact, the smartphone or tablet camera, which will be pointed at the barcode. In this way the user will be immediately led to the shared audio.

Furthermore, it will be possible to do the same by framing the artwork with the code present on another mobile device.

So far I have told you about the Spotify Codes function from the side of those who listen to music and audio content in general but, in case you are an artist with an active profile on Spotify for artists, know that you can generate codes to attach to your songs. This will help users find you more quickly and more: you can also print the artwork of the songs accompanied by code. How about making flyers to put around, ready to be scanned? Do you find this a good way to advertise your band? Great! Then read my guide on how to print Spotify code.

 

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