Uploading songs to Spotify: A quick guide

If you want to upload your favourite songs to Spotify and curate your own unique playlist but are confused about how to do it, you aren’t alone. While Spotify offers an amazing library of both popular and classic songs, you might find some tracks missing, like remixes, rare indie tracks, or nostalgic oldies. Fortunately, there’s a nifty workaround! If you have these songs saved as MP3 files on your device, you can import them into Spotify to fill those gaps in your collection. 

ALSO READ: Spotify codes explained: What they are and how to use them

This allows you to play these tracks on Spotify’s desktop app, and with a Spotify Premium subscription, on its mobile app for both Android and iOS devices. By integrating your local music with Spotify, you can enjoy all your favourite songs in one place, even those not available on the streaming service. So, here’s how to upload your music to Spotify and keep your favourite tunes at your fingertips.

How to upload music to Spotify

Uploading your own music to Spotify, or more precisely, importing it, is actually quite simple. You can use either the Spotify desktop app for Windows or macOS to do this or if you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, you can also listen to songs stored locally on your device through the Spotify app on your phone or tablet. 

Here’s how you can upload your tracks to Spotify from both your desktop and mobile app.

Uploading music to Spotify from desktop

1. Open the Spotify desktop app on your Windows PC or Mac and sign in.

2. Click your account name and select Settings from the dropdown menu.

ALSO READ: Spotify’s AI Playlist will create a playlist for you using text prompts; here’s how

3. Scroll down to the Local Files section in Settings and toggle on “Show Local Files.”

4. Choose whether to show songs from Downloads, Music Library, or both.

5. To add audio files from another folder, click Add a source, and then, in the pop-up browser, choose the folder you want to add and hit OK.

6. Go to Your Library in the left-hand menu and select Local Files to access and play tracks stored on your computer in the Spotify desktop app.

Uploading music to Spotify from your smartphone

If you have Spotify Premium, you can listen to songs stored on your computer via the Spotify app on your phone or tablet. Here’s how:

1. Create a playlist in the Spotify desktop app and name it.

2. Open the Local Files folder in Your Library and drag tracks into your new playlist.

3. Now, on your phone or tablet, open the Spotify app and connect to the same Wi-Fi as your computer.

i. iPhone/iPad: Tap Home, then Settings > Local Files, switch on “Local audio files,” and allow Spotify to find devices on your network.

ii. Android: No need to worry about Wi-Fi connection.

ALSO READ: Spotify may allow users to switch off their personal recommendations

4. Your new playlist will appear in the Playlists section of Your Library. Open it and you’ll notice that the songs will be greyed out. To import the songs to your mobile app, tap the Download button below the playlist title.

5. Once downloaded, you can play the locally stored music on your phone or tablet like any other Spotify track. You can also enable offline listening, by going to Home, tapping Settings, and enabling “Offline mode.”

And that’s how you can easily import your favourite songs into Spotify, creating a personalised playlist where all your cherished tracks are in one place, even if they’re not available on the streaming service.