In today’s streaming era, Spotify has become one of the most popular services for listening to music. With over 400 million active users, Spotify offers access to millions of songs, playlists, albums, podcasts and more.
One of the best features of Spotify is the ability to download songs, albums and playlists for offline listening when you don’t have an internet connection. However, this is a Premium only feature. So if you want to know how to download music from Spotify for when you’re on a plane, exercising without data, or anywhere without WiFi, read on.
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Can You Download Spotify Songs?
To download songs on Spotify, the first requirement is that you need a Spotify Premium subscription.
The free, ad-supported version of Spotify only allows you to stream music online. Downloading songs for offline playback is not possible with a free Spotify account.
So before doing any downloading, you’ll want to upgrade to a paid Premium plan. Premium gives you features like:
- Download songs, albums, playlists for offline listening
- Listen without ads
- Unlimited skips
- Higher quality audio
- Listen to music on smart speakers
Once you have a paid Premium subscription, you can download tracks to your mobile device or desktop app. This saves them for offline listening anytime.
How to Download Albums and Playlists on Spotify
Downloading full albums and playlists with your favorite songs is a breeze with Spotify Premium.
Here’s how to download albums and playlists for offline listening:
- Open the Spotify app on your mobile device and log in.
- Use the search bar to find a specific playlist or full album you want to download.
- Tap the downward arrow “Download” button next to the playlist or album name.
- Spotify will show the download progress.
- The playlist or full album will now be available to listen to offline! Look for the green arrow icon next to downloads.
Downloading albums and playlists this way is great for when you want full collections of songs to listen to on a flight, road trip, or other times without internet.
How to Download Individual Songs on Spotify
Along with full albums and playlists, you can also download individual tracks one at a time on Spotify.
Here are the steps to download a single song:
- Open the Spotify app and use the search bar to find the specific song you want to download.
- Tap the 3 dot “More” icon in the upper right corner of the song listing.
- Select the “Add to Playlist” option.
- Choose “New Playlist” to add this song to a brand new playlist.
- Return to the “Your Library” tab in the app.
- Locate the newly created playlist containing your song and open it.
- Tap the downward arrow “Download” button to download the full playlist.
Since this playlist only contains 1 song that you added, downloading it will save that individual song for offline listening.
This is an easy way to get single song downloads from Spotify without having to download a full album.
How to Find Downloaded Songs on Spotify
Once you’ve downloaded albums, playlists or individual tracks on Spotify for offline use, how do you find and access these songs?
It’s simple to find your full download collection in the Spotify app:
- Open the Spotify app on your mobile device.
- Navigate to the “Your Library” tab at the bottom right corner.
- Downloaded albums, playlists and songs will have a green downward arrow icon next to their name indicating they are available offline.
- You can also navigate to the “Downloaded” folder specifically in Your Library.
- Use the app search bar to search “Downloaded” to find all of your saved songs in one place.
Spotify makes it easy to see your full collection of downloads for offline playback. You can also re-download songs if you need to by tapping the green arrow icon.
Can You Download Songs from Spotify to Your Computer?
The Spotify app isn’t just for your phone and tablet. You can also download tracks for offline listening on your Mac or Windows computer.
Here’s how to download music using the Spotify desktop app:
- Download and install the Spotify app for your computer.
- Log in to the desktop app with your Spotify Premium account.
- Search for the playlist, album or songs you want to download.
- Click the downward arrow “Download” button next to the music name.
- The songs will download to your computer and be accessible offline!
Downloading to your computer allows you to listen when you don’t have internet access and take your music collection anywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Spotify Premium subscription to download music?
Yes, downloading songs and listening offline requires a paid Premium account.
Can I download songs to my Apple Watch?
Yes, with WatchOS 6.0 or later, you can download playlists and podcasts to your Apple Watch for offline use.
How many songs can I download?
With Spotify Premium, you can download up to 10,000 songs on up to 5 different devices.
Can I export Spotify songs to MP3?
No, there is no way to export Spotify downloads as MP3 files due to licensing restrictions.
Where are my Spotify downloads stored?
Downloaded songs are stored locally on your device storage. But the files use Spotify’s encrypted format.
Conclusion
The ability to download music for offline listening is one of the best perks of a Spotify Premium subscription. Using the Spotify mobile and desktop apps, you can easily save albums, playlists and individual songs to your device for anytime access, even without an internet connection. So the next time you’re traveling or commuting without data, make sure you download your Spotify tunes for an uninterrupted music experience.
