What is Spotify and How Does it Work?

Spotify is a digital music service that provides its users with access to millions of songs. It can be accessed through computers, laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

Spotify was founded in 2006 by Swedish entrepreneurs Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon.

In this article, you will learn about Spotify in detail, how it works, and its uses etc.

So let’s get started!

What is Spotify?

Spotify is a digital music service that lets you listen to songs and create playlists on your phone, tablet or computer.

You can listen to specific songs, albums and artists. You can also use the app to share music with friends and see what they’ve been listening to. Great for trying new music! All for free on your device of choice.

The music is streamed using a wi-fi or data connection, so you can listen to it online, offline and everywhere in between! You can also play your favorite music on a Spotify smart speaker.

Spotify has a selection of million of songs from thousands of artists around the world. They have loads of albums from huge artists, as well as playlists and charts. You can even find your own personal favorites from your favorite artists! You can listed to podcasts as well!

Listen to a Spotify free trial for a month before you decide whether or not to subscribe. It costs between $9.99 per month for a premium subscription if you decide that it’s the right service for you.

To get started, download the free app from Google Play and open it. Use your phone or device’s settings to login with your Google account and start browsing and listening!

How Does Spotify Work?

Spotify’s proprietary technology collects data, primarily through “audio fingerprinting” and automatically buys the rights to play copyrighted music, covers of timeless classics, new releases, live versions or mixes. The service is completely legal.

If you are looking for a specific song to stream on Spotify you can type in the name of the song in their search bar on either desktop or mobile.

When you search for a song that carries Sony Music labels will show up as well as common artists that might have recorded their cover of that song if it exists on Spotify!

You can also use different genres, moods and languages with this feature to find your perfect playlist!

Who owns Spotify?

Daniel G. Ek, Sven Hans Martin Lorentzon, Baillie Gifford & Co., Morgan Stanley (MS), Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY), and T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. are the biggest institutional shareholders in Spotify.

What is Spotify Premium?

Spotify Premium is the name of the ad-free Spotify service. It provides you with all the features of the free service, plus unlimited offline listening and ad-free music.

The advantages of the premium service are numerous. You get ad-free music, unlimited skips and no ads whilst streaming.

You can download music for offline listening with the benefit of not using any mobile data or wifi connection.

You can set the app to use only WiFi, so it will never eat into your mobile data allowance.

Spotify Free vs. Spotify Premium

Spotify has two versions of its software, free and premium. The free version allows users to listen to music on-demand with limited advertisements.

The Premium version, however, provides ad-free listening experience in high quality audio, unlimited access to Spotify’s entire library, and offline listening.

How much is Spotify Premium?

A month’s subscription to Spotify Premium costs $9.99, with student and family subscriptions costing $4.99 and $14.99, respectively.

Why upgrade to Spotify Premium?

Some reasons to upgrade to Spotify Premium are:

Offline listening: Listen to your favorite tunes without a WiFi or data connection.
Higher quality sound: Music will come through clearer and louder than standard Spotify.
Background listening: Listen to music while you use other apps on your phone.
No ads: Enjoy music uninterrupted, free from ads and interruptions.

Spotify for Podcasters

Spotify has a service that is specifically for podcasters:

A new podcasting page with search and signing up for podcasts.
Access to your favorite podcast hosts’ pages without leaving Spotify.
Search by topic or subscribe to discover what’s out there.
Get the latest episodes as soon as they are released on your device.
Access to the podcast’s RSS feed for importing into another app or listening device.
Share your favorite episodes with other Spotify users.
Get the show notes in the episode description, with links back to where you found them.
Podcasts can now be linked up to an Artist Page.

What is Spotify Connect?

Spotify Connect is a digital audio streaming service which allows the user to play the audio content on Spotify, via an internet-connected device (e.g. soundbar, receiver, TV) or speaker system; it also allows users who are logged in to other device simultaneously control their music on that other device.

For example, if the user is listening to Spotify through their TV and goes into another room with their phone, they can pause any playing song on their TV without pausing it on their phone.

What is Spotify Kids?

Spotify Kids is a service for children under the age of 13 (or over 8) that allows users to play music without swearing or explicit lyrics.

There are also several quality shows and games related to music on the app which parents can choose to download.

What is Spotify Stations?

The Stations app is a stripped-down version of the Spotify app that allows you to build stations for your favorite music. The more you listen to Stations, the better it becomes. Favorites, Discover Weekly, and Release Radar are just a few of the stations you may unlock depending on your listening history.

What is Spotify Code?

A Spotify Code is a “scannable” tag that looks like a QR code and may be used to quickly share or access content in Spotify.

Is Spotify available in my country?

There are different countries that it is available in. If you want to know if it’s available in your country, you can go on Spotify’s website and type in the name of your country.

How to Create a Spotify Account

Go to the Spotify signup page in your browser.
Click on “Get Spotify for Free”.
You will now be able to join up using either your Facebook account or your email address.
Fill in the form with an email address, making sure to fill in all of the essential fields: username, password, email, date of birth, and gender.
You should read Spotify’s “Terms and Conditions of Use” and “Privacy Policy” before joining up. By clicking the appropriate hyperlinks, you may see them. Select “Sign up” when you’re certain that all of the information you’ve provided is correct.

How to download songs on Spotify?

If you have a Spotify Premium account, you may download songs from the service for offline listening.

Log into your Spotify Premium account using the Spotify app on your iPhone or Android device.
In the bottom-right corner of the screen, tap “Your Library.” Then, on the “Your Library” menu, choose the playlist you wish to download.
Tap the “Download” button in the playlist until the toggle goes green. This will start downloading the music in your playlist right now. When the download is finished, you’ll notice a green downward-facing arrow next to each song.

How to change Spotify username or display name?

Go to “Settings,” then “Home.”
Select “View Profile,” then “Edit Profile” from the drop-down menu.
Tap your current display name, then enter in your desired new display name (or hidden identity).
When you’re finished, hit “Save,” and you’re ready to go.

How much data does Spotify use?

With Spotify’s normal settings, you’ll consume around 2MB+ of data each three-minute song, totaling around 40MB per hour.

Please note that the quantity of data you consume is determined on the quality of the music you’re streaming; better quality music consumes more bandwidth.

Does Spotify have parental controls?

Parents can manage the Explicit Content Filter option for all users connected with the account with Spotify’s Premium Family Plan.

This plan also includes the following features: Family Mix: Each family receives a personalized playlist with music appropriate for the entire family.

Can Spotify be used offline?

Yes you can – You have to tap the “Settings” button in the upper right corner of the “Your Library” tab and select Playback.

Toggle Spotify to Offline Mode by tapping the Offline toggle. You’ll only be able to listen to the music you’ve downloaded if you use Spotify. When you utilize Search, you’ll only see results for music that are already on your device.

How to change Spotify password?

You have to go to the password change page.
In Current password field, type your current password.
In the New password field, type your new password.
In the box labeled “Repeat new password,” type your new password.
Select “SET NEW PASSWORD”.
Your password will be changed.

How to change Spotify email?

Go to your account page after logging in.
You need to select “EDIT PROFILE”.
Now type in your new email address in the Email field.
Double-check your password.
Select “SAVE PROFILE” and you are good to go.

How to connect Spotify to Alexa?

Below are the steps to link Spotify to Alexa:

1. The first step is to download and open the Alexa app.

2. Now go to the Menu in the top-left of the screen.

3. Click “Settings” and then “Music & Podcasts”.

4. You have to select Spotify and then Link account to Alexa.

5. After this, log in to your Spotify account and you are done.

How to connect Spotify to Discord

You have to download Discord app and then open it.
Now you have to click “Connections” in the Menu.
Now click “Spotify”.
A new web page will open prompting you to log in or sign up to Spotify.

How to add friends on Spotify?

Open the Spotify app.
Now go to the Search option that is available on the bottom banner.
Now you have to tap on the search bar and type in “spotify:user:username” with your friend’s username.
Finally, go to their profile and follow them.

How to see who liked your playlist on Spotify?

On your phone, computer, or web browser, launch the Spotify app.
Open a playlist from your “Library” or search for one.
Near the playlist’s name and information, look for the follower / like count.

How to delete a playlist on Spotify?

You have to launch the Spotify app and then have to click on “Library.”
Now you need to open the playlist and tap on the three dots in order to open the options menu.
Click “Delete” and tap it once again to confirm to the deleting of the playlist.

How to unhide a song on Spotify?

You have to simply open the Spotify app on your mobile device and hit the gear icon at the top to access the app’s settings.

Go to the “Playback Settings” tab and enable the “Show unplayable songs” option.

Now save your settings, then return to any playlist and press the Hide/Unhide button to make the song visible.

How to turn on shuffle on Spotify?

In the Now Playing bar on the desktop, press the crossed arrows icon to the left of the back skip button to enable Shuffle. If it’s turned on, it’ll be highlighted in green with a green dot beneath.

How to turn off shuffle on Spotify?

You have to turn on Shuffle first as explained above and then simply click it again until it becomes gray to turn it off.

Why does my Spotify keep pausing?

If you have an Android and your Spotify unexpectedly pauses, you may be experiencing a known glitch that happens when you utilize “Battery Saver” or “Power Saving Mode.”

Restarting the phone might be one answer.

How to cancel Spotify Premium?

Go to https://www.spotify.com/account and sign in.
Click CHANGE PLAN under YOUR PLAN.
CANCEL PREMIUM may be found by scrolling down to Spotify Free.
Your Premium will be active until your next billing date, after which your account will revert to free.

How to delete Spotify Account?

Go to the Contact Spotify Support page and click Account to delete your Spotify account. Then select “I want to close my account”.

Continue to click “Continue” until you receive an email confirmation with a link to permanently delete your account.

Spotify Alternatives

There are so many amazing streaming services but Spotify is no longer among them. What are some other great streaming services?

The list of available options for online streaming is growing daily, and it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Here’s a quick look at some of the best alternatives to Spotify:

Apple Music provides an ad-free experience similar to the original Spotify service. With access to all past and present albums, singles, live performances, studio outtakes, remixes, music videos and more from every major label in existence all on one service. You can also download your favorite tracks or albums for offline listening.

Google Play offers a free ad-supported version with a 30 day trial period before asking for a monthly fee. If you can’t get enough of the Android operating system, Google Play is the right streaming service for you. You will also have access to a large music library with modern and classic gems.

Rdio has a free radio-style streaming service that allows playlists based on artists or genres. A paid version that eliminates ads is also available. Rdio even allows you to sync your music library into their cloud for offline access across all devices! What more could you ask for?

MixRadio provides free, ad-supported streaming of carefully curated playlists that are catered to your favorite genre or band. For a small fee, you can download the songs you love and never have to listen to ads.