Sometimes, the latest version of an app may cause problems or not even work. While the developer is fixing the problem, try using an older version. If you need the previous version of Spotify, check out the app's version history which includes all versions available to download. Download prior versions of Spotify for Windows. 6 things to know about the new free Spotify. The world's largest music-streaming service just amped up its freebie options. Here's what you need to know. April 24, 2018 1:43 p.m.
Open Spotify on your computer and create a playlist that contains the local tracks you want to sync. Make sure both your computer and your mobile device are hooked up to the same Wi-Fi connection. On your mobile device, open Spotify. The device now appears on your computer below Devices in the Spotify window’s left sidebar. While Spotify's competitors work with multiple cloud music services as well as local music files, Spotify Connect only works with the Spotify app. Recent updates to Sonos mean that Spotify is now.
Spotify on Wednesday expanded the free tier of its service to all devices, including smartphones and tablets.
In the past, free Spotify users could only access Spotify Radio on mobile devices and tablets, but like other radio services, this prevented them from listening to a specific artist or music in their own playlists. The new offering expands on-demand listening to free users on tablets, and allows smartphone users to listen to their own playlists or music from a specific artist in shuffle mode.
See also: Spotify Expands Free Streaming to All Devices
Spotify created the following chart, which shows the access options that users have:
When it comes to specifics on how everything works, it becomes a bit more complicated. Fortunately, Mashable spoke with Charlie Hellman, Spotify's vice president of product, who broke down the company's new mobile offering.
Can Free Users Listen to Any Song They Want on Mobile and Tablet?
You can listen to any song you want, and in any order, if you use Spotify on a tablet. On iOS, this means the iPad or iPad mini. On Android, Spotify is setting 7-inches in diagonal as the screen minimum for tablets. The app will determine which version of the experience you see in Android.
On the tablet, the play-on-demand feature works the same as it does on desktop. You will have ads every five to six songs, and you can't save playlists for offline listening. Spotify decided to treat the tablet as a desktop after observing how people use the product.
In a post-PC world, the tablet is increasingly becoming the main home computer for many consumers, including Spotify users; for that reason, the company chose to make the experience on-par with what you'd get on the desktop.
On smartphones, only Spotify Premium users have the option to listen to specific songs on-demand.
How Does Free Listening on Mobile Work?
Although Spotify doesn't offer free on-demand listening via mobile, it has substantially expanded the types of music you can listen to, and how you can listen to them.
You can now listen to music from any artist in 'shuffle' mode; this means you can search for an artist, then instantly listen to a station that only features that particular artist. It's a big switch from typical online radio services, such as Pandora and iTunes Radio, which may let you create a station around an artist, but wind up having other artists in the mix, too.
What's more, you can listen to your own Spotify playlists in shuffle mode. Be aware, however, that there are a few rules about how they work.
What Are the Rules for Free Shuffle Mode?
Your playlists will need to meet several parameters to work in free shuffle mode. (Don't worry, Spotify will automatically fill out your playlist if it doesn't meet these requirements.)
They include:
Spotify said the vast majority of playlists have more than 20 songs, and include many different artists. Although this means you can't listen exclusively to a shuffled mix of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, you can listen to Rolling Stone's playlist for its top 100 tracks of 2013.
Plus, as long as you add a few songs from other albums to your Random Access Memories playlist, you'll be guaranteed to hear the whole album during your listening session.
![]() How Is This Better Than Pandora, Songza or iTunes Radio?
The biggest change is that you can choose to only listen to a specific artist — something the other services don't offer. What's more, you can listen to playlists you create.
Songza is a playlist-oriented Internet radio product, but its licensing rules mean that users can't listen to playlists they create themselves.
This is also true for other streaming services that offer access to curated playlists. Usually, it's fine, especially when users are passively listening to tunes. Where it becomes problematic is if you've collected a bunch of tracks for an event, such as a holiday party. What's the point of having the ultimate holiday playlist if you can't even play it back on your own device?
Can Free Users Create Playlists on Mobile?
Yes. Free users can create their own playlists or add songs to existing playlists in the app; this means if you want to add a track from Spotify Discover to an existing playlist, you can do so without having to worry. You can also create new playlists with music or artists you come across.
How Do Ads Work on Mobile and Tablet?
Just as they do on the desktop and within Spotify Radio now. Interruptions and ads will come every five to six songs.
Should I Bother Paying for Spotify Premium?
This will totally depend on how you listen to music. If you mostly listen to playlists while on your phone, and avoid selecting albums and tracks, you may not feel the need to pay for Spotify Premium. What's more, if you use an iPad or Android tablet for most of your listening, you no longer need to pay to play any song you want.
How Does The Free Version Of Spotify Work Without
Still, Spotify Premium continues to have advantages. On the smartphone side, the biggest advantage is that you don't have to deal with ads, and you can save music for offline listening; this is really useful when on an airplane or the subway. Spotify Premium users can also stream audio in higher quality, so if you're an audiophile (at least in the context of streaming music), you get higher fidelity sound.
Free Version Spotify
Spotify told Mashable that getting rid of ads and offline playback are actually the two biggest reasons users upgrade to Spotify Premium. The goal of the new Spotify freemium offering is to encourage users to listen to as much music as possible.
'We've found that the more stuff we give users, the more users are willing to pay us,' Hellman said. It's a good point. I know I have personally found that the value in subscription music services really shows itself the more I use it. Having more mobile listeners gives Spotify a chance to convert more of those listeners into Premium subscribers.
How Do I Get Started Using the Free Mobile Offering?How Does The Free Spotify Work
Make sure you are running the latest version of Spotify for iOS or Android, and the option is available now. For free users, browsing artists or accessing your playlists will show an option to 'Shuffle Play.'
On Android tablets and the iPad, you now have the ability to listen to any track you want at will.
Images: Spotify
How Does Spotify Free Work
Already a sensation in Europe, Spotify’s free music streaming service just landed in the U.S. today, and sure enough, it’s all over the news.
So, what’s so special about Spotify? Aren’t there already music sites like Pandora and Slacker (more on them in a moment) that stream tunes to your PC for free? Well yes, but Spotify boasts a key twist that sets it apart.
What exactly is Spotify?
Launched back in 2008, Spotify is an online music streaming company that serves up more than 15 million songs from all the big music labels, which you play through a peppy, easy-to-use desktop application (similar to iTunes).
Spotify has been up and running in seven countries—including the UK, Sweden, Finland, Norway, France, The Netherlands, and Spain for some time now, but it’s only making its (long-awaited) U.S. debut today.
How much does Spotify cost?
Spotify offers three membership levels: a free service that lets you play up to 20 hours of music a month (as noted by the New York Times) with occassional advertising, a $4.99-a-month Unlimited plan that lets you stream unlimited music, without the ads, and a $9.99 Premium service that offers downloadable or streaming music for your smartphone.
OK, so what’s so special about that? Aren’t there already websites that stream music for free?
Yes indeed. There’s Pandora, a popular music site that lets you create instant (and free) radio “stations” based on, say, your favorite artist or a particular song. Two other sites—Slacker, and Last.fm—do much the same thing. Meanwhile, we’ve also got Napster and Rhapsody, which offer for-pay streaming music starting at $5 and $10 a month, respectively.
Spotify’s peppy, easy-to-use desktop software for the Mac.
But here’s the thing: With Pandora, Slacker, and Last.fm, you can’t search for and play the exact song you want to hear (or at least you can’t with their free accounts). Instead, selecting, say, “Born in the U.S.A.” by Bruce Springsteen will queue up an instant “station” with similar songs—great if you’re simply in a Bruce kind of mood, not so great if you must hear “Born in the U.S.A.” in particular.
With Spotify, you can choose and play an exact song with a free account—a key advantage over its free online music competitors.
The catch? As I mentioned above, you’ll hear occasional advertisements between tracks, and you’re restricted to 20 hours of music streaming a month in the first six months of your membership. After six months, you can only listen to 10 hours a month.
And one more thing: you aren’t allowed to listen to any particular song more than five times a month.
Spotify How Does It WorkBut if you pay for a Spotify account, those limitations are lifted, right?
Yep—starting with the $5/month Unlimited plan, you can listen to all the music you want, all the time.
Is all this legal?
Yes. Spotify signed deals with all the big music lables, so don’t worry—you won’t get hit with any lawsuits or get in trouble for using Spotify on your work PC.
Okie doke, you convinced me. Where can I sign up?
Right here, but there’s another catch: For now, access to the free Spotify plan is by invitation only. You can sign up here to request an invite. That said, you can sign up for an Unlimited or Premium account immediately—and if you do, you’ll be granted two invites to share with your friends.
Any other interesting features we should know about?
Well, Spotify’s desktop software is actually pretty nice—clean, easy to use, and very fast (and streaming tracks on Spotify start playing instantly, by the way). You can also share any songs you’re listening to on Facebook or Twitter, and you can share (or not) your iTunes playlists with your Facebook friends.
So, any other questions about Spotify? Let me know!
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