Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services available today, with millions of songs available to stream online. While it has many great features that make it easy to discover new music, build playlists and share them with friends, there are times when you might want to opt out of some of its features. One such feature is Spotify’s automatic song addition to playlists, which can be annoying if you want complete control over the songs added to your playlists. This blog post will explore different methods that you can use to get Spotify to not add songs to your playlists, and some of the implications of these methods.
Video Tutorial:
What’s Needed
Before we look at the different methods that you can use to get Spotify to not add songs to your playlists, here are some things that you will need:
- A Spotify account
- An active internet connection
- A computer or mobile device with the Spotify app installed
What Requires Your Focus?
In order to prevent Spotify from adding songs to your playlists, you will need to focus on modifying the settings of your playlists. You will need to either turn off the automatic song addition feature for individual playlists, or for all playlists on your account. Depending on the method that you choose, you may also need to manually add individual songs to your playlists, which may be time-consuming if you have many playlists.
Different Methods to Get Spotify to Not Add Songs
Method 1: Turning off Automatic Song Addition for Individual Playlists
If you want to prevent Spotify from automatically adding songs to a specific playlist, you can turn off this feature for that playlist. Here are the steps:
- Open the Spotify app and select the playlist that you want to modify
- Click on the three dots icon next to the playlist title
- Select "Edit Playlist"
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and toggle off the "Auto add songs" option
- Click "Save" to update the playlist settings
Pros:
- You can still manually add songs to the playlist
- You can turn off automatic song addition for individual playlists without affecting other playlists
Cons:
- You need to manually turn off this setting for each playlist where you don’t want automatic song addition
- You need to manually add songs to the playlist
Method 2: Turning off Automatic Song Addition for All Playlists
If you want to prevent Spotify from automatically adding songs to all playlists on your account, you can turn off this feature in your account settings. Here are the steps:
- Open the Spotify app and click on the "Settings" icon (gear icon)
- Select "Playback"
- Scroll down to the "Autoplay" section
- Toggle off the "Autoplay" option
Pros:
- You don’t need to manually turn off automatic song addition for each playlist
- You have full control over the songs that are added to your playlists
Cons:
- You need to manually add all songs to your playlists
- You might miss out on discovering new songs that Spotify recommends
Method 3: Creating a New Private Playlist
If you want to maintain the automatic song addition feature for your existing playlists, but don’t want to add additional tracks, you can create a private playlist not discoverable by others utilizing personal devices. Here are the steps:
- Open the Spotify app and select "New Playlist"
- Give your playlist a name
- Click on "Make Private"
- Toggle off "Collaborative Playlist" and "Add Songs"
- Select "Create" to finish
Pros:
- You maintain the automatic song addition feature for existing playlists
- You don’t need to manually add songs to your private playlist
- You will still be able to find your private playlist
Cons:
- User is not able to listen to the auto playlist with smart devices like Google Home, Alexa
Why Can’t I Stop Spotify from Adding Songs to My Playlists?
You might face some issues when attempting to turn off automatic song addition on Spotify, Here are some possible reasons and fixes:
- Spotify desktop app assumes autoplay and auto-add tracks are joined together by default:
- Fix: Turn off autoplay, and Spotify will not automatically add tracks to your playlists when you’ve finished playing the music on each playlist.
- Missing "Auto-Add" Feature in Difficult to Find Section:
- Fix: Instead of looking for "Auto-Add Songs", look for “Playlist Settings” icon in the upper-left corner, it should appear as three horizontal lines, and followed by selecting "Add songs" in the options.
- Spotify’s Different Languages Interface:
- Fix: On the Spotify app, toggle to the settings menu, then look for "Languages", the language selected might not be your preferred language English, consider changing to English language
Implications and Recommendations
While turning off automatic song addition on Spotify can give you complete control over your playlists, it may also limit your discovery of new songs recommended by Spotify. It’s important to find a balance between control and discovery
Spotify is primarily a music streaming service; its music suggestion algorithm comprises of high-end selections of some of the most experienced music collectors. Therefore, it’s good for users to accept its suggestions and continue to explore new music via the recommendation and discovery playlist feature.
5 FAQs About How to Get Spotify to Not Add Songs
Q1: Will Disabling Automatic Song Addition in Spotify Affect Existing Collaborative Playlists?
A: No, opting out of automatic song addition for your playlists will not affect your collaborative playlists. Collaborative playlists will still allow all members to add new songs and access the playlist.
Q2: Can I disable automatic song addition on Spotify for a specific playlist while keeping it enabled for others?
A: Yes, you can turn off automatic song addition on Spotify for individual playlists while keeping it enabled for other playlists.
Q3: Can I still add songs manually to my playlists after disabling automatic song addition on Spotify?
A: Yes, you can still add songs manually to your playlists after turning off automatic song addition on Spotify.
Q4: Will Spotify still recommend songs to me if I turn off automatic song addition?
A: Yes, Spotify will still recommend songs to you based on your listening history and playlists, even if you turn off automatic song addition.
Q5: Can I re-enable automatic song addition on Spotify after turning it off?
A: Yes, you can re-enable automatic song addition on Spotify by following the same steps that you used to turn it off initially.
In Conclusion
If you want to get Spotify to not add songs to your playlists, you can do so by turning off automatic song addition for individual playlists, turning it off for all playlists on your account, or creating a new private playlist. Just remember that opting out of automatic song addition may limit your music discovery on Spotify, so it’s important to find the balance between control and discovery.