Prices
Before you find out how to use Spotify, it seems only right to focus on the prices of the service. There are three Spotify subscription plans: one free and two paid. The paid ones do not have any time constraints and can be canceled at any time. The free one has clear differences between the versions for PC and tablet and the one for smartphones. Here they are all in detail.
- Spotify Free (free) - allows you to listen to all the songs in the Spotify catalog with commercial breaks. On a smartphone, it limits listening to music to shuffle mode, so you choose a song or artist and the app creates an automatic playlist from which you cannot "escape" (you can do a maximum of 6 skips per hour). Streaming quality is limited to 160 kbps and offline music cannot be downloaded.
- Spotify Premium (9,99 euros / month) - allows you to listen to all the songs in the Spotify catalog, from any device and without advertising interruptions. It also allows you to download music offline (up to 3.333 songs per device on a maximum of 3 devices) and to activate streaming in high quality at 320kbps. New Spotify users can try Spotify Premium for free for one month with no renewal obligation.
- Spotify Family (from 15,99 euros / month) - allows family members of Spotify Premium users to open an account with a 50% discount. It supports up to 5 people.
There are also some telephone offers that include Spotify Premium (often at a discounted price) and promotions for those who decide to return to Spotify after canceling their subscription for a few months.
Compatible devices
Now let's move on to the list of Spotify compatible devices and operating systems. To find out if your computer, smartphone or tablet is supported by the service, consult the list below.
- computer - Windows and Mac OS X. There is also a Linux compatible Spotify client, but it is not officially supported by the company.
- Smartphones and tablets - Android, iOS, Windows Phone.
- Smartwatch - Android Wear. Compatibility with Apple Watch is not yet guaranteed, but it is possible to partially overcome the problem with third-party apps.
- chromecast - all models.
- Video game console - PS3 and PS4.
- Sound systems and Smart TVs - some audio systems and some Smart TVs include Spotify support.
- Web browser - there is a web version of Spotify that can be used from any browser with Flash Player support.
How to install Spotify
Are you still convinced that you want to try Spotify? Perfect, then connected to the official website of the service and click on the item Download located at the top right to create your account. You can choose whether to subscribe to Spotify with Facebook, by pressing the appropriate button, or with your email address, by filling out the form located in the center of the page.
When the operation is complete, put the check mark next to the item I agree to the Spotify Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy (leave the other boxes unchecked), click the button SUBSCRIBE and wait for the Spotify installation package to be downloaded to your computer. Once the download is complete, open the file you just downloaded on your computer (SpotifySetup.exe on Windows or Install Spotify on Mac) and wait a few seconds for the software installation to complete. Then log in to Spotify using the credentials of the account you created earlier (or your Facebook account) and that's it.
On smartphones and tablets, the procedure to follow is even easier. To install Spotify, all you have to do is open the store of your device (eg. Google Play Store your android or App Store on iPhone), search Spotify and install the app by pressing the button Install (o Get). At the end of the installation, start Spotify, log in with your account credentials (or your Facebook profile) and start listening to your favorite music!
Spotify's interface
At this point, you are ready to find out how to use Spotify. Let's start by taking a quick look at the software interface on a PC.
- At the top left is the search bar through which to find albums, songs, artists and playlists;
- At the top right are the icons to display the notifications (the bell), i Message (the comic) e manage the account (own photo).
- at the bottom are the buttons to control the music reproduction, the adjustment bar of the volume and the button to display i testi of the songs listened to (via MusiXmatch).
- On the left there is a navigation menu to quickly access all sections of Spotify and the music saved in your library (songs, albums and playlists).
- On the right is the friends feed with the list of songs listened to by your contacts. If you do not want your plays to appear in your contacts' feed, click on your photo at the top right and select the item Private session give the menu check if you press.
On smartphones and tablets we find an interface quite similar to that of the desktop counterpart, but obviously some commands are arranged differently.
The app opens with the menu You may also like..., through which you can discover the most interesting news of the moment, rankings and new releases. To access the search function, the radio and the contents of your music library, press the ad icon hamburger located at the top left. The same goes for the menu relating to settings and notifications, which can be accessed by pressing on the icons of the Bell and dell 'gear present in the side menu of Spotify.
Spotify plays are synced across all devices. This means not only that you will find the same albums, the same songs and the same playlists on all your devices, but also that you can pause the listening on your computer and continue it on your smartphone (or vice versa). Just start the application and click on the item Listen on this device.
The functions of Spotify
As we have just seen together, the Spotify interface is extremely intuitive, but it still seems appropriate to make a quick overview of all the most important functions of the service.
The section You may also like... (accessible from the left sidebar) is a bit like Spotify's main menu. Inside you can view the charts with the most listened to songs of the moment, a series of thematic playlists dedicated to various genres and moods, the list of new releases and a series of songs and artists recommended by Spotify based on your previous listenings (tab Discover).
In the menu Activities you can find the most recent activities of your favorite artists (the ones you decide to "follow" by clicking on the button Follow in the pages dedicated to them) and advice on Spotify users to get in touch with, while in Radio find the list of thematic radios you have created in your Spotify. What is it about? Very simple. Thematic radios are playlists automatically generated by Spotify based on a song, artist or album. To create one, all you have to do is click on the button (...) located next to a song or album title and select the item Create a radio give the menu check if you press.
By continuing to "scroll" the side menu of Spotify you can access all the contents saved in your music library: songs, album, artists, local files (i.e. offline songs imported from your PC folders) e playlist. To add a song, album or playlist to your Spotify library, click the button (...) placed next to its title and select the item Save to Your Music from the menu that opens (or click on the icon +).
Spotify Premium users can too download playlists and albums offline contained in your music library. To activate this function, all you have to do is select the content of your interest (from your library, not via the Spotify search bar) and move the lever for the option to ON. Available offline. Only playlists can be downloaded offline on PC, while individual albums can also be downloaded on smartphones and tablets. If you want to know more, check out my tutorial on how to download songs from Spotify.
Another important thing to note: playlists can be private, public or shared. The private playlists they are viewable and customizable only by the user who created them; the public playlists are accessible by everyone but can only be modified by those who created them, while the shared playlists can be viewed and edited by a selected user group. To adjust the privacy level of a playlist, right-click on its title in the Spotify sidebar. For create a new playlist, select a song or an album to add to it, press the button (...) placed next to its title and select the item Add to Playlist> New Playlist give the menu check if you press.
To adjust Spotify settings, click on arrow collocata in alto a destra e seleciona la voce Settings from the menu that appears. In the screen that opens, you will find all the options to change the language of Spotify, activate streaming in high quality (320kbps, only for Premium users), adjust the privacy level of new playlists, activate or deactivate the sharing of listening on Facebook , select local files to include in your library, and much more. It's all extremely intuitive, you won't have any problems figuring out where to put your hands.
How to manage Spotify account
As mentioned above, new Spotify subscribers can try the Premium plan of the service for free for 1 month (no renewal obligation). To activate your trial, click on the button UPGRADE located at the top right, choose a payment method between credit card e PayPal in the web page that opens and enter the data of the latter. Then click on the button Start the trial period and pay after 30 days And that's it.
To prevent the automatic renewal of the subscription from being triggered (and therefore money being stolen from you), open Spotify, click on arrow collocata in alto a destra e seleciona la voce Account from the menu that appears. On the web page that opens, select the icon Subscription from the left sidebar, click on the item Do you want to cancel your subscription? and follow the on-screen instructions. If you encounter any difficulties during the procedure, try to follow the instructions you find in my tutorial on how to disable Spotify.
How to use Spotify
