(Pocket-lint) - Spotify is a digital music streaming service that gives you access to millions of songs, podcasts and videos from artists all over the world, like Apple tree Music.

Spotify is immediately appealing considering you can access content for gratis by just signing upwardly using an email address or by connecting with Facebook. If you're not keen on monthly subscription fees for Spotify Premium, or just want to dip your toe in and exam it out, it's easy to go started and there's no commitment.

Yous can find out the main differences between Spotify Free and Premium in our separate feature simply every bit a quick summary, the free version is ad-supported, much like radio stations. The free version of Spotify can be accessed on PC, laptop and mobile phone, but the full service needs a Spotify Premium subscription.

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How does Spotify work?

Getting started with listening to music on Spotify is easy:

  1. Visit the Spotify website and sign-upwards. Nosotros'd recommend signing upwards with Facebook if yous have an account as it'll brand information technology easier to find and follow friends, encounter what they're listening to and share songs with them.
  2. Choose a subscription level. We'd recommend going for Spotify Premium as it gives yous access to more features, is more than flexible and will connect with more devices.
  3. Download and install the gratis Spotify awarding. There are versions for desktop and iPhone/iPad and Android phones.
  4. Sign into your account on those devices and get listening.

The basic setup is pretty straightforward but there'due south much more to Spotify one time you lot delve in and information technology gets smarter the more yous listen.

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Can yous download music from Spotify?

Yeah and no. With Spotify Premium you can gear up music to be available "offline" just it's not the same as downloading music in the traditional sense. For instance, you tin't try to game the system by downloading an album then cancelling your subscription at a later appointment. And you can't download the tracks to fire them to a CD or copy them to other devices.

The idea of Spotify's offline mode is to allow yous to have access to your favourite music when you're trying to save mobile information or travelling somewhere where access to the internet might non be easy.

With Spotify Premium y'all tin can have up to ten,000 songs available to heed to offline on up to five different devices. Downloading songs, albums or playlists on Spotify is unproblematic too, which is great. Just switch the toggle side by side to Download on the album you lot'd like to download to heed offline. Alternatively, click the three dots in the peak right and click "Download".

How much data does Spotify use?

The amount of data that Spotify burns through volition depend on the streaming quality you choose - more on this in a minute. This is a rough guide for how much data Spotify will become through:

  • One 60 minutes of music playback will use around 50MB of data when the quality is set to "normal".
  • At normal quality you can play effectually 24 hours of music for around 1GB of data usage.
  • At high-quality 1GB will be used in less than 15 hours.
  • At extreme quality you lot'll utilize 1GB of data in vii hours.
  • You'll use a lot more data with video playback.

You can check and modify the quality of streaming and download of songs using mobile data in the settings on your device.

Loftier-quality streaming and audio quality

There are four dissimilar levels of streaming quality for Spotify. Streaming is all done in the Ogg Vorbis format and uses the following bitrates for each of the quality levels:

  • Low at 24kbps
  • Normal streams at 96kbps
  • High at 160kbps
  • Very High streams at 320kbps

The quality level y'all use will depend on your preference and choices effectually information usage but it's worth noting that Very High is merely available to Spotify Premium subscribers. Also with the spider web player, Spotify complimentary users merely get access to 128kbit/s quality vs 256kbit/south for premium users.

How to notice people and friends on Spotify

Signing up to Spotify with Facebook or connecting your Facebook account at a subsequently date will let you to hands find and follow friends and meet what they're listening to. The action feed is displayed on the right-hand side of the desktop software and is a slap-up way to selection up on friends who listen to the same music as you or poke fun at them for their latest ABBA session.

Y'all can as well use the search function within the app to discover friends. Head into your profile in settings and tap on the "Find Friends" button, which volition allow y'all to detect and follow more friends or artists.

If you're not on Facebook or don't want to connect your Facebook account to Spotify you can still observe and follow friends, it just might be a fleck more difficult in some cases.

According to Spotify, the best way to find and follow a friend is to use the search box on the desktop customer and utilise this format:

spotify:user:USERNAME

Copy this and supercede USERNAME with the proper noun of your friend. If this doesn't piece of work, ask your friend to either copy their profile link straight from their profile page and send information technology to y'all. Alternatively, ask if they can share one of their public playlists with you. If they created the playlist, and so their username is contained within the URL as a number:

https://open up.spotify.com/user/1149074494/playlist/0sBC03hIa7vrUSUeX8S8KY

You tin can either use that number to notice them or click on their name in the playlist to follow them. For more detailed guidance on finding friends on Spotify, see Spotify'due south official tutorial.

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Spotify playlists, radio and discovering new music

Creating a playlist is every bit easy as correct-clicking a song and clicking "Add to Playlist" or clicking the three dots next to a song on the app. Grab your favourite songs and stick them in a playlist for your personal listening pleasance. Once you get started y'all'll presently detect y'all're following playlists made by friends or curated by artists.

Spotify is smart too, the more than you heed, the more than information technology learns the sort of music you like and that has an impact on the music it will nowadays to you in future. When y'all delve into the "Home" section of the app yous'll discover a number of recommendations based on your recent listening choices. This includes artists similar to those you've already been listening to, likewise every bit your "Find Weekly", "Release Radar", "Top Songs of [year]" and "Family Mix" playlists, among others.

"Discover Weekly" is a playlist that's automatically updated by Spotify each Mon and includes a number of different songs based upon what you've been listening to recently.

"Release Radar" is a selection of new tracks from artists y'all follow. It's worth noting here that if you follow your favourite musicians you'll get notifications and updates when they release new content also.

"Family Mix" combines music listened to by anyone in a Premium for Family unit subscription and you lot can choose betwixt Chill or Upbeat.

"Elevation Songs of [year] is all the songs you've loved the almost in the previous year.

To observe new music, you can either tap on the "Home" tab where yous'll find plenty of options, or you lot can go to the "Search" tab to search for new content past category and genre. These are slap-up ways to detect new music that's similar to your current gustation just ones that you might non have otherwise listened to.

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What is Spotify Enhance?

In September 2021, Spotify released a peachy update to its mobile app to aid you upgrade your playlists. Enhance is a button y'all can press that sits at the elevation of your playlists. Tapping the button fleshes out the playlist with actress songs along like lines. Personalise music recommendations based on your current listening habits.

The enhance button adds extra songs to your playlist, interspersed between those already added by yourself. You'll become one extra song after every ii of your own tracks with a maximum of thirty extra ones existence added to your playlist.

If you similar what you meet then you can click the plus button to add each track permanently. If you lot're not a fan of the additions you tin click enhance over again and it'll remove what was added like an undo push. Heighten is rolling out to multiple regions, if y'all don't run across it now, you lot should in hereafter.

Spotify Bluetooth connectivity

One of the obvious benefits of Spotify is if you're using information technology on your phone so you can connect to a wealth of different Bluetooth devices and stream your content that mode. Whether that means a home audio receiver, head unit of measurement in your car, Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth-continued speaker - there are plenty of possibilities. With Spotify Premium y'all tin can also accept advantage of Spotify Connect.

What is Spotify Connect?

Spotify Connect allows you to play your music through a diverseness of different Wi-Fi continued devices including everything from Wi-Fi speakers to your tv, Amazon Echo, Google Dwelling, Chromecast, PC and much more than.

Video: Spotify Wrapped 2019 trailer (The Independent)

Spotify Wrapped 2019 trailer

This is great considering it means you can mind to your music in more places and with more devices. It too offers you a choice in how you control the music playing on your Spotify account. For example, if you lot're streaming to speakers in your lounge using your phone and so you tin can use it as a remote control to adjust the book, modify tracks or create a party playlist while listening.

  • What is Spotify Connect, and why does it thing?
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Spotify connectivity with Amazon Repeat and Google Home

If y'all're the proud owner of a smart home speaker like Google Home or Amazon Echo then listening to your favourite tunes on Spotify is likewise a cakewalk. All you need to do is set up Spotify as your primary music service inside the relevant app, then employ your voice to command the speakers to play whatever y'all want.

If you lot take multiple devices you tin also take advantage of multi-room audio functionality to broadcast Spotify tunes throughout your dwelling house. Connecting and creating groups for these devices, so broadcasting music or a playlist to those groups with your voice is a straight-forrard affair and one of the highlights of owning an AI-powered smart speaker.

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What is Spotify Pets?

Spotify has apparently carried out some research and establish that a big pct of pet owners specifically play tunes for their pets.

To help create the perfect listening experience for pet owners, the company has created a tool to help you create a pets playlist. Getting started with it is piece of cake too:

  1. Visit the Spotify Playlist mini-site
  2. Login to your account
  3. Click to cull your pet whether domestic dog, cat, iguana, hamster or bird
  4. Choose a mood and add some info about your pet
  5. Add their proper name
  6. Click to create the playlist and start listening

These pet-centric playlists are based on your musical preference, only catering to your pet'south mood and disposition.

Spotify Kids

Spotify Kids is an app specifically designed for immature children who are part of a household that already has a Spotify Premium program.

This app caters to children listening from historic period three and up and is designed to be "safe" and private too. Equally you'd look, the music here is more interactive with singalong songs, flick soundtracks and even stories.

Listening content on this app also includes tunes hand-picked past a dedicated team of editors to ensure great listening for your trivial ones.

The app is also designed to be child-friendly to brand information technology engaging and user-friendly as well.

It's still rolling out, just is available in several regions including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand and more than. Like the main Spotify app, Spotify Kids is too available for both Android and iOS devices.

Spotify Stations

Spotify Stations is another separate app that's available to download alongside the main Spotify app.

Stations is intended to give listeners like shooting fish in a barrel access to curated playlists and a more radio-like experience. It also is designed to create a listening feel that makes stations based on your listening habits too.

Like Spotify Kids, Stations is bachelor for both iOS and Android devices.

How much is Spotify?

Spotify comes in two chief forms - complimentary and Premium. Spotify Premium is £9.99/$9.99 a month, which includes admission to features such as ad-free streaming, unlimited skips, extreme quality streaming and Spotify Connect.

If multiple people in your firm utilize Spotify, you lot might consider Premium for Family which gives up to six people access to their own unique Spotify business relationship under i pecker. All users take to live at the same address so it'south non a parcel to include your friends on, simply it's a skillful manner to split up the toll.

At £14.99/$14.99, Premium for Family isn't too much extra over a standard Premium plan price, and so it's a worthy investment. There's also Spotify Duo that costs £12.99/$12.99 a month for two Premium accounts.

For students, at that place's a discounted program that costs just £4.99/$4.99 a month.

What do you get with Spotify Free?

You can use Spotify for free, but its features are limited. On the free plan, music can be played in shuffle mode and you can skip up to six times per hour, every hour. Spotify Radio isn't available, just you can access Daily Mix playlists.

With the Spotify free plan, you lot can access all playlists, discover new music and share tunes with friends. You tin besides play whatever playlist, album, or artist but merely while in Shuffle Play mode.

Spotify is costless to apply on mobile, desktop or tablet - then information technology's accessible with ease, wherever y'all are. You tin can access the free version using the smartphone app, desktop software or website.

Spotify's Premium tier gives you access to everything simply doesn't force adverts - whether yous're listening on desktop, mobile, or tablet.

Premium users tin can play any song they want (on need), as well as find and hear playlists, discover new music, create and edit playlists, plus share music and playlists.

Premium users can besides skip whatever track, listen offline, hear high-quality music and utilize the Spotify app on their mobile device equally a computer remote command.

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What are Spotify Codes?

Spotify Codes is a feature from Spotify that allows users to easily share music with friends and family, too as their business relationship for others to follow. You tin can employ it to generate a unique lawmaking for a song, album, playlist or yous profile, and then become someone else to browse the code to share it with their device and allow them to enjoy it too or follow you lot.

Spotify Codes works on both iPhone and Android devices, in guild to utilize it you simply need to click the '...' button next to what you want to share and you'll see a pop-upward with the anthology, song or playlist artwork and the code sits underneath. Click that code to zoom so the other person can browse information technology.

On the other device, tap on the search tab at the bottom, then tap the search bar at the pinnacle. There is a photographic camera icon in the elevation correct, which if you launch, yous'll then exist able to merely scan the code. Spotify Codes is open to anybody.

Outside of Spotify Codes yous tin also hands directly share songs from Spotify beyond a number of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Tumblr or just a straight link to re-create a usable link to wherever you desire on the spider web. Simply right-click on desktop or press the three dots on mobile on the song, album, creative person or playlist yous want to share and select the appropriate service.

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What is Spotify Time Capsule?

Spotify regularly releases updates to its service to assistance improve your listening experience. This includes tailored playlists and discovery voyages to help you expand your musical horizons and find new artists you're likely to enjoy.

Sometimes though, they only add quirky lists which evidence how well they know yous based on your current listening trends. Time Capsule is one example of this wizardry.

This is a personalised playlist which picks out effectually lx tracks that you lot would have listened to equally you were growing upward. Information technology's a drove of throw-dorsum songs that'll fill you lot with nostalgic joy.

We establish Fourth dimension Capsule to be pretty accurate, scarily so in fact, but it obviously requires Spotify to have a practiced working cognition of your musical taste, then get listening!

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What are Daily Mix Playlists?

Spotify learns what you like as you use it. The more y'all listen, the more intelligent it becomes. This music streaming service is bright for this sort of intelligence. Automatic playlists are so created based on your preferences.

This includes automated playlists similar Summer Rewind which features all the songs you've been listening to the about over the final few months.

Daily Mix playlists are slightly different, they're like a radio station which mixes your favourite tunes with like music Spotify thinks you'll enjoy. Multiple Daily Mix playlists are available for the different styles or genres of music you mind too. These individual mixes keep playing for as long as yous want to listen and can be improved by liking the songs you bask or removing the ones you don't.

Like Notice Weekly, Daily Mix playlists are a great way to discover new music that you'll love.

Private listening manner

Listening on Spotify can exist a social experience. If y'all've connected Spotify to your Facebook business relationship, for case, so friends and family will exist able to see what you're listening to and you tin share your favourite songs with them.

There might be occasion though where y'all don't want people to know that you're listening to a certain album or vocal on constant repeat. We all have the guilty pleasance that we don't need the world knowing about.

Spotify accounts for this with a "private listening mode" that you can activate from the settings in the app, under Social, and a quick click of a push on the desktop browser.

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Podcasts

Spotify is more than just a music streaming service. If you have a Spotify account you tin can also utilize it to heed to thousands of different podcasts that include everything from comedy to sports, lifestyle, news and more than.

These podcasts are available in both the app and desktop browser and it's like shooting fish in a barrel to chase down and follow your favourite podcasts and access the latest episodes wherever yous are.

How to delete your Spotify business relationship

If y'all determine you no longer want your Spotify account, yous can delete it. It is worth noting though, that you lot can downgrade from Premium to a free business relationship, so if toll is the issue then nosotros'd recommend because that first.

If you're all the same bang-up on deleting your Spotify account, and so follow these steps:

  1. Visit Spotify'southward Support page on how to close your business relationship.
  2. Login to your Spotify business relationship.
  3. Click this link to delete your account.

If this doesn't work, then you can also try this method:

  1. Login and go directly to Spotify's Contact Back up page.
  2. Choose 'account' as the category.
  3. Select 'I want to close my Spotify account permanently'.
  4. And so click to close your business relationship or cancel your subscription
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