Spotify is arguably the most popular service for streaming music, as it can be used with a free account (albeit with ads and other limits) on virtually every device we know. In reality there are very few users who know and take full advantage of its potential, so you can fully enjoy the most customizable music player that currently exists in the world.So in this guide we have collected all the best Spotify tips and tricks, so you can listen to music, on PC, smartphone, tablet and via the web for free and with limits after all accept them (unless you pay for the Premium version).
ALSO READ: Benefits of Spotify Premium to listen and download music without limits
Spotify Guide
This guide is designed for those who have never used Spotify before, but it can also be useful for those who have already used the service for some time and perhaps want to discover some new tricks or features.
How to download Spotify on PC, smartphone and tablet
You can download Spotify on PC both as a program and as an app. For Windows 10 it's easy to find Spotify directly from the Microsoft Store; alternatively we can download the specific app for Windows or other operating systems (Mac and Linux) by taking us to the official page and clicking on Download Spotify Free.
I respect the smartphone version, Spotify on PC or website is really free to listen to all the music you want without limitations. There are some commercials every now and then, but you can search and choose the song to listen to without any problems.
To listen to Spotify music on a smartphone or tablet, all we have to do is download the specific app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store; if we use a Huawei phone or an Android device without a dedicated store we can always download the Spotify APK from the APKPure website.
The app on iPhone and Android, if used for free and without a subscription, does not allow you to listen to a specific song, but only to search for playlists and authors. Spotifdy will then do a random playback.
How to use Spotify Web
On PC, Mac and Linux we can also avoid downloading the Spotify app, since the music cloud service works very well Spotify Web, accessible from the official website.
Once the indicated site has been opened, press the button at the top right Log in and we log in with our Spotify account, if necessary also using the Facebook, Google or Apple account to speed up access (an account will be created immediately based on our personal information). The functions of the site are practically identical to those of the app, with the difference that we can listen to music in a convenient browser screen.
How to search and save songs, albums or collections
Spotify contains several million songs to search for: the starting point of each search is obviously the search bar (present at the top or side of the menu Search), where you can enter the name of the song, album, singer or group we want to listen to.
Once we have found the content that suits us, we can add it to our favorites by pressing the button Follow, so you can find it later; for the single songs it will be enough to press with the key of the heart to save the song as a favorite and find it in the personal playlist of your favorite music. You can also right-click on a song title to add it to a playlist or create a new one.
If you find a playlist you like, you can also press the heart key here to add the list to the favorites section. At the bottom left of the window you can find the saved playlists, both those created by us and those added to favorites.
To access the saved contents and the artists or albums followed, all we have to do is press on the menu The library.
How to create personal playlists
Creating playlists will allow us to sort the songs we like, so as to listen only to the ones that best suit our mood. To create a playlist, all we have to do is press on the item Create playlist and start collecting songs.
To add a single song to the playlist, click on it with the left mouse button, select the item Add to playlist and select, in the bulleted list that will appear, the playlist to add it to. We remind you that by clicking on the name of the playlist (after selecting it) we can also change its name, so as not to have problems recognizing it in the future.
The playlists created by the PC are also accessible from smartphones and tablets and vice versa.
How to access categories and recommendations
One of the most useful features of Spotify is undoubtedly the section Browse everything, available from the menu Search. In this section we can find the automatic playlists created according to our musical tastes, the news of the moment, the new releases but also various categories of music based on the mood (Mood), the type of activity to be carried out (training music, relaxing music or work music) or according to the musical genre we prefer (the various Rock, Metal, Pop etc.).
Looking for a particular group or singer we will also see the named collections appear It is , which allow you to immediately listen to the artist's most famous and downloaded songs without having to search for them one by one.
How to download songs and albums for offline listening
Another very famous feature on Spotify is the download songs for offline listening, which can only be done from the various downloadable apps on the devices (not available from Spotify Web). To download a playlist or an album, right-click or keep your finger pressed on the screen (on tablets and smartphones), then select the icon Download or we activate the switch next to the item Download. The downloaded albums or playlists will be saved in the menu The library.
Unfortunately this feature is only available in the Spotify Premium version and is subject to limitations: we cannot download more than 10.000 songs per device, on up to 5 different devices. To keep downloads, we need to connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days.
How to increase the quality of music
On Spotify we can also choose the quality of the music played. By increasing the audio quality on Spotify we will be able to listen to the songs with a better audio performance, ideal when we are on Wi-Fi network and we want to push the quality of the songs we listen to every day to the maximum. Unfortunately the audio quality changes according to the type of subscription we subscribe and according to the playback device (whether app or web):
- Spotify web: with the free account the maximum quality is AAC 128 kbit / s, while with the Premium subscription the quality rises to AAC 256 kbit / s.
- Spotify app: with the free account the maximum selectable quality is Alta (equal to about 160 kbit / s), while with the Premium subscription we can also select the voice Very high (equal to about 320 kbit / s).
To change the audio quality, open the app, press the icon Settings and finally press on Audio quality o Music quality.
Spotify app settings on PC
The Spotify program has a settings menu as seen above. In this menu, in addition to the music quality options, the ones under the Spootify section are important, where you can choose whether to make your playlists public, whether to listen to music in anonymous mode, whether to share the songs you have listened to and whether to see the artists you have recently listened to on the home page.
There are other important options below as well Local files, to be able to use Spotify as a program to play mp3s saved on your computer as well. In the advanced settings you can specify the folder where music files are saved on the PC.
Under Advanced Settings, you can also activate the fade between one song and another and then activate or deactivate theautomix, to move from one song to another in the playlists.
Conclusions
Spotify is truly an exceptional service to listen to free music without having to rely on piracy, since with the free account we will have access to all the songs (even if with some limits). Summing up in the end the price of the Premium subscription for Spotify is also justified, especially if you want to listen to your favorite music using your smartphone without interruptions, without the need for an internet connection and at the highest possible quality.
To learn more we can also read our guides Listen to Spotify while we play on PC e How to listen to Spotify in the car.
Guide and tricks for Spotify, the only free music app
