Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter
Spotify is the best music-streaming service going.
An ever-present in the popular sections of both the App Store and Google Play, it's one of the first apps people download when they get a new phone.
What's more, you can also use it on your computer and TV.
One of Spotify's greatest strengths has always been its uncanny ability to help you discover new music you actually like.
However, it’s got loads more useful features in its arsenal, including a Running mode, the ability to collaborate on playlists and the option to add music that isn’t available through Spotify.
We’ve rounded up a selection of the best Spotify tips and tricks. Click on the gallery below to start browsing.
Show all 11 1 /11Spotify tips and tricks Spotify tips and tricks Search more accurately You can improve the accuracy of your searches by adding extra information, such as dates, genres and albums. Adding “year:1978-1984” to your search, for instance, will exclude songs and albums from any other period of time. You can also widen or focus your search by adding “and, “or” or “not” to it. For instance, “Kyuss AND Green” will bring up results with the keywords “Kyuss” and “Green”; “Zeppelin OR Floyd” will bring up results with the keywords “Zeppelin” or “Floyd”; and “Metallica NOT Anger” will display all Metallica tracks except ones with the word “Anger”. You can combine search terms too, like this: “genre:pop AND year:1999”.
Spotify tips and tricks Running mode Spotify’s Running mode plays music that matches your running speed. When you change pace, it will automatically adjust the music to match it. To access it, tap Browse, scroll down to Running, select a playlist and tap Start Run. You can also manually set the tempo, to get the music to control your pace.
Spotify tips and tricks Link up Shazam You can use Spotify alongside Shazam, to identify new music, find it and play it. Once Shazam has recognised a track, you can play it in Spotify by tapping the Play in Spotify option. Connecting your Spotify and Shazam accounts also lets you automatically save tracks to a Spotify playlist called My Shazam Tracks. In Shazam, tap My Shazam and select Connect Spotify.
Spotify tips and tricks Improve music quality You can make Spotify sound better by tapping Your Library, Settings and picking between Automatic, Normal, High and Extreme in the Streaming box. Higher quality naturally uses more data, so beware of choosing the top option if you’re on a limited data plan.
Spotify tips and tricks Connect with Uber You can control the music in an Uber on the iPhone version of the app by linking it to your Spotify Premium account. If you match with a driver who has connected music, you’ll see a Music bar at the bottom of the screen. Tap it, log into your account, connect to the car's speakers and play.
Spotify tips and tricks Collaborative playlists You can collaborate on playlists with your friends - who’ll be able to add, delete and reorder tracks - by tapping Your Library and Playlists, selecting a playlist and then hitting the options button and Make Collaborative. You can also put group playlists together in group chats on Facebook Messenger, by tapping the + symbol, choosing Spotify and clicking Create under Group Playlists.
Spotify tips and tricks Save songs for offline A Premium subscription lets you download music to listen to offline, and you’re allowed to save up to 3,333 songs per device, on a maximum of three different devices. In order to be able to download tracks over a cellular connection, you'll need to tap Your Library and Settings, and switch the option on. Whenever you’re online, you can then save tracks for offline listening by tapping Download.
Spotify tips and tricks Add music that's not on Spotify You can also use the app as an all-in-one media player for playing tracks that aren’t actually available on Spotify. To be able to play any mp3 and mp4 music files you have stored on your computer through the app, go to Settings and Local Files on Spotify for desktop.
Spotify tips and tricks Discover music One of Spotify’s best tools for finding new music to listen to is Discover Weekly, a roundup of songs based on what you and other people with similar tastes have been listening to. It refreshes every Monday, so save any tracks you like to your Library before they vanish by tapping the + button. Also well worth a look are Release Radar, Daily Mix, Time Capsule and Spotify Radio.
Spotify tips and tricks Podcasts and videos Spotify isn’t just for songs. It’s also home to podcasts and videos, which you can find on the Browse page.
Spotify tips and tricks Find concerts You can quickly find shows taking place near you and concerts picked for you, based on what you’ve been listening to, by visiting Browse and Concerts. If you find something you like, you can also purchase tickets here.
Read all of our latest Spotify news here .
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies