Spotify has managed to earn itself the palm of the most used music streaming service in the world in a very short time. Its popularity knows no bounds. Yet there are still many people who write to me and ask me for information on the latter: there are those who, beginners with the use of computers, expressly ask me how to use Spotify ; those looking for clarifications about the differences between the free and paid versions of the service; others would like clear instructions on how to download Spotify music offline, and the list could go on and on.
So here I am, ready to get back on topic and answer all these questions through a tutorial that I hope will help many people. In the guide I will try to touch on various topics: we will analyze Spotify subscription plans in detail and their monthly prices, we will find out how to take the first steps within this very famous music streaming service (both on PC and on smartphones and tablets), we will learn to download Spotify music offline and much more.
How to use Spotify
All you have to do is take five minutes of free time and read what I am about to offer you. If you have any doubts about how Spotify works or its prices, I promise you will have them all cleared up in no time!
Spotify’s basic plan is completely free, but comes with a series of compromises that limit listening quality and freedom of action on portable devices. To better understand what I’m talking about, take a look below: I have prepared for you a complete overview of Spotify subscription plans with their monthly prices and their main features. It will help you choose the solution that best suits your needs.
- Spotify Free – this is Spotify’s basic plan and is completely free. On PCs and tablets it allows you to freely choose the music to listen to but interrupts the playback of the songs with commercials. It also prevents offline music downloads and limits the streaming quality to 160 kbps. On smartphones there are even more restrictions, in fact music can only be listened to in shuffle mode, therefore with a random selection of songs based on a song or a selected artist. You can skip up to 6 tracks per hour.
- Spotify Premium– is the paid version of Spotify. It costs 9.99 euros/month after a free 30-day trial reserved for new subscribers. Eliminate all the limitations of the free version of the service: unlock the ability to download music offline (up to 3,333 songs per device on a maximum number of 3 devices); eliminate commercial breaks; allows you to freely choose the music to listen to on your smartphone and allows you to listen to music in high quality (320kbps). After being a Spotify Premium subscriber and canceling your subscription, if you return, there may be discounts on the monthly service fee (e.g. 3 months for the price of one).
- Spotify Family – is a plan that allows family members of Spotify Premium users to open an account on the service with a 50% discount. It supports a maximum number of 5 people.
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The Spotify Premium subscription can be paid by credit card, rechargeable card or PayPal, with no commitment or obligation to renew. It is possible to deactivate the subscription at any time and continue to use the service until the natural expiry of the subscription (therefore until the end of the current month).
In the mobile sector, the monthly cost of Spotify must be added to any costs foreseen for data consumption under the 3G / LTE network (costs which obviously do not exist if you use the application in offline mode or if you connect to a Wi-Fi network ).
Spotify compatibility
One of Spotify’s main strengths is its compatibility with a wide range of devices and operating systems. Here is the complete list of devices and software platforms on which you can use the service.
- Windows PC and Mac – via the official Spotify client.
- Linux – via a client not officially supported by Spotify.
- Android smartphones and tablets – via the official Spotify app.
- iPad and iPhone – via the official Spotify app.
- Windows Phone 8/10 – via the official Spotify app.
- Chromecast – to cast Spotify content to your TV.
- Video game consoles – on consoles such as PS3 and PS4, you can listen to Spotify music in the background of your games.
- Audio systems and TVs – some audio systems and televisions currently on the market include support for Spotify.
- Web browser – a web version of Spotify is available that can be used from a computer using any browser that supports Flash Player.
how to use spotify without ads on PC Windows 10
At this point I would say that we can take action and see how Spotify is used more closely. To download the official client of the service on your PC, connect to this website and click on the item Download located at the top right.
On the page that opens, choose whether to register with Spotify by filling out the registration form that is proposed to you or by logging into your Facebook account, then clicking on the Sign up with Facebook button . In both cases, remember to put the check mark next to the item I accept the Spotify Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy . Instead, leave the other two boxes unchecked, which relate to receiving promotional content from Spotify.
At the end of the registration procedure, the download of Spotify will automatically start on your computer. Once the download is complete, open the SpotifySetup.exe file (if you use a Windows PC) or Install Spotify (if you use a Mac) and wait for the Spotify client to be automatically installed on your computer. It will take a few seconds.
Finally, log in to the service using the username and password combination you chose during registration (or by clicking on the Log in with Facebook button if you signed up for Spotify via Facebook) and enjoy your favorite music!
As far as smartphones and tablets are concerned, there isn’t much to say: to download Spotify, just open the store of your device (e.g. Google Play Store on Android or App Store on iPhone and iPad), search for Spotify within the latter and install the official application of the service by pressing the Install (or Get ) button.
How to use Spotify
A first look at Spotify’s main screen should already let you guess how the service works: on the left there is a menu through which you can navigate all Spotify sections and quickly access your contents; on the right is the friends feed with the list of songs listened to by your contacts; at the bottom are the buttons for controlling music playback (play/pause, volume adjustment, etc.), while at the top are the bar for searching for content on Spotify and the menu for managing your account.
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To search for a song, an album, a playlist or an artist, use the search field located at the top left. Then click on the cover of an album or a playlist to view the complete tracklist and double-click on the title of the song to play.
To browse the most interesting content available on Spotify, select the Navigate item from the left sidebar. A screen will open with the rankings of the most listened to songs in Italy and in the rest of the world, a series of thematic playlists based on various genres and moods and the new releases . Then there is a section called Discover in which songs, albums and artists similar to your previous listening will appear (music that you may therefore like).
To add a song, album or playlist to your music library, click on the (…) button located next to its title and select the item Save in Your music from the menu that appears. Any content saved to your music library will be added to Spotify’s Songs , Albums , and Artists sections (in the left sidebar).
Would you like to create a playlist with your favorite songs or albums? Nothing could be easier, click on the (…) button located next to its title and select the Add to playlist item from the menu that opens. If, on the other hand, you want to add an existing playlist to your music library, click on the Spotify Follow button.
Playlists are shared publicly with other Spotify users. To make them private, right click on their title (in the left sidebar) and select the item Make secret from the menu that appears. If you don’t want to share even the songs you listen to in real time on the service with others, click on the arrow located at the top right (next to your photo) and select the Private session item from the menu that appears. The option is not permanent, so you will have to reactivate it every time you want to listen to music without sharing your listening with your contacts.
Spotify also allows you to view the lyrics of the songs you are listening to, just start playing a song and click on the icon of the three horizontal lines located at the bottom right.
Premium features
Do you want to try the Premium version of Spotify? Nothing easier. Click on the Upgrade button located at the top right of the main program window; log in to the Spotify website and choose whether to subscribe by credit card or PayPal by clicking on one of the two tabs available on the page that opens. If you cancel the automatic renewal of your subscription before the 30-day free trial expires, you will not be charged.
At this point, fill out the form with your credit card details (or log in to your PayPal account), click on the Start trial period and pay button after 30 days and your Spotify account will be immediately converted into a premium account.
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As a Premium user you can listen to Spotify music at the highest possible quality (320kbps, in Ogg format) and you can save songs locally to listen to them offline.
To activate high quality music playback, click on the arrow located at the top right of the Spotify main window and select the Settings item from the menu that appears. Then move the lever for the High quality streaming option to ON (Premium only) and you’re done. Before activating this function, consider the fact that streaming at 320kbps is much “heavier” than the standard one at 160kbps. Use it only if your Internet connection is fast enough and you don’t need a lot of bandwidth for other tasks.
To download songs offline you must necessarily collect them in playlists (a limitation that does not exist in the mobile version of Spotify, which allows you to download albums and songs from your personal library without first converting them into playlists). So create your playlists as explained above, select their title from the Spotify sidebar and move the lever for the Available offline option to ON .
If some step is not clear to you, consult my guide on how to download songs from Spotify in which I explained in detail how to store Spotify songs locally on computers and mobile devices.
Note: to prevent the subscription money from being charged to your credit card or PayPal account at the end of the Spotify free trial, click on the arrow located at the top right and select the Account item from the menu that appears. Then click on the item Subscription on the web page that opens (on the left), select the item Do you want to cancel your subscription? and follow the onscreen prompts to turn off the automatic renewal of Spotify Premium. More information on the procedure can be found in my tutorial on how to deactivate Spotify Premium.
Spotify on smartphones and tablets
The Spotify interface on smartphones and tablets is practically identical to that of the desktop counterpart. The only substantial difference, at least on smartphones, is that the left sidebar is “hidden” behind a menu which can be accessed by pressing the hamburger icon located , precisely, at the top left.
Another difference compared to the desktop version of Spotify – which we have already pointed out above – is that albums and songs added to your music library can also be downloaded locally without first converting them into playlists. To do this, just select the item Your music from the side menu, locate the content to download offline from the Spotify Songs or Albums section and move the lever for the Available offline option to ON .
Of course, the option is only available to subscribers of a Spotify Premium plan, such as on the computer.