When I run or travel, I listen to music on Spotify. However, despite having millions of songs, the service does not have everything I want.
I have CDs and MP3 files that are no longer or never were available through streaming services.
What should I do if I want to listen to those files but don’t want to install yet another music player on my Android device?
Locally added files on Spotify
Fortunately, Spotify and Android make this task simple enough for anyone to complete. And I’ll show you exactly how to do it, so you can listen to music whenever you want, whether you’re at your computer or not.
How to Upload Music to Spotify on Android
What you’ll need: To make this work, you’ll need the Spotify app installed on your Android device (available from the Google Play Store) and some music to add (MP3, MP4, or FLAC formats are ideal).
1. Install music on your Android device
The first step is to download music to your Android device. This is the only step that may be difficult.
I do this by uploading the MP3, MP4, or FLAC files to a Music folder in Google Drive that I created. I then download those files to my phone using the Google Drive app for Android. There are numerous other options, but this is the most straightforward.
Of course, if you buy music on your phone (from sites like Amazon), you’re good to go as long as the music files are in your Android Download folder (you can check this using the Files app).
2. Navigate to Spotify Settings
Tap your profile photo in the upper left corner of the Spotify app. Tap Settings and privacy from the slide-out sidebar.
3. Turn on Local Files
Scroll down until you reach the Local Files section in the Settings window. Slide the On/Off slider to the On position.
You will then be asked to grant Spotify access to your device’s music and audio. To finish enabling the feature, tap Allow.
4. Play locally saved music
Return to the main Spotify screen and tap Library now that you have your files on the device and local file support enabled on Spotify.
The Local Files entry should appear on the resulting screen. To listen to your locally stored files, tap that and then play.
This is a great way to listen to any audio file you’ve saved to your Android device’s Downloads folder. You should have no trouble listening to out-of-print, unavailable, or original audio files while on the go as long as the file is in a supported format.
To read our blog on “Spotify and VELO Sound Station Season 2 joined forces,” click here
