How To DJ With Spotify - The Real Way

Spotify is obviously an attractive tool for DJs, particularly given the increasing viability of using streaming services as a source in your DJ setup. 

An unlimited library of high-quality music, instantly accessible and at a low cost... surely it's a DJ's dream? 

Well, unfortunately, it has become a bit more of a dream than reality in the last few years. There used to be several ways of integrating Spotify into a DJ setup, although Spotify has recently ended support for these apps - putting a spanner in my workflow as a DJ (and probably yours). 

That said, where there's a will, there's a way. So I've spent some time working out the best ways to DJ using Spotify in the current year, despite the overlords' attempts to stop us. 

In this guide I'll share some of the secret methods I've discovered for making mixes with Spotify music. Shh...

TL;DR - DJing with Spotify. #

• Spotify is arguably the most perfect form of music library for a DJ. 

• However, the company doesn't offer any native support to mix Spotify music. 

• It's not the end of the world, because I've found some cheeky workarounds that allow you to carry on mixing your Spotify playlists and music!

• You can either use "naughty" techniques, or you can use DJ.Studio's legit services to make sharable mixes from your Spotify music library.

DJing With Spotify - The Truth #

You may remember the golden days of Spotify DJing like I do. Us budget-cautious professional DJs had a bunch of different options when it came to Spotfiy-friendly DJ apps. Pyro by Serato, Pacemaker, Djay by Algoriddim, and Cross DJ were just some of the big ones that I tried. 

Sadly, in mid-2020, Spotify began to kill support for any third-party DJ app that connected to their library - making it nearly impossible to DJ with Spotify. 

Although, I think there is an upside to this - as it provoked a wave of technological innovation and hackery to still give DJs the ability to mix Spotify tracks. 

All of which, I'm going to share with you in the rest of this guide!

You Should Know...#

Before I share the methods, there are a couple of things I should say. 

Rather than DJing directly with Spotify, most of these methods revolve around some kind of workaround or bridge - where they take music from Spotify and find the tracks in a different, usable platform. 

The official option from Spotify is to use their Spotify AI DJ. The Spotify DJ Mode is a feature in the Spotify app that creates an evolving Spotify playlist based on your music taste and narrates the new songs using an AI-generated DJ voice. It's a nice feature, but it's definitely not what you need for proper DJing. You can easily try it out in the Spotify mobile app if you have a Spotify premium account. 

With that covered, I'll now share the methods I've discovered for DJing with Spotify 

How to DJ With Spotify Using DJ.Studio #

A unique option for DJing with Spotify is DJ.Studio's Streaming/YouTube Project mode. This lets you create full, seamless, sharable mixes online, from music on YouTube or Spotify.  

This clever technology takes links from Spotify (be it Spotify songs or even a playlist), works its magic, and then presents the tracks in an editable timeline, where you can then shape your mix in more detail. 

It's the perfect tool for creating mixes you want to share with friends and fans, using music from Spotify and YouTube. It doesn't work for mixing live - like on a pair of decks, but in any other situation where you want to create and listen to a seamless mix, it's ideal. 

You can see it in action here:

Let me explain the basic process for using DJ.Studio to mix with Spotify. 

1. Open DJ.Studio, either the app or browser version. 

2. Create a new YouTube Mix Project

3. Add songs - You can drag and drop any song or playlist from Spotify or YouTube directly into the app, or you can manually paste URL links. 

4. Automix - Next, you can use the automix algorithm to automatically beat-match and harmonically mix your tracks. This quickly creates some basic, but seamless transitions between each track, creating a smooth mix in under a minute. 

5. Edit and refine - Now you can use the timeline editor to sculpt your mix in more detail, adding effects and samples, fine-tuning transitions and track orders, and further personalizing your mix. 

6. Share - When you're happy with your mix, it's time to save and share. You can share your finished online mix project with anybody who has the internet - they don't even need a Spotify or DJ.Studio account!

As you can see, DJ.Studio makes it easy to create pro-sounding, sharable mixes with music on Spotify. It has a bunch of other features that I won't share here, but make sure you check out the rest of this website, or have a go on the DJ.Studio Free Trial!

You should also have a look at DJ.Studio's Beatport Integration, which lets you test out any Beatport Streaming songs in a mix, then buy the download if you like them. 

While this is a great choice if you just want to make sharable mixes to enjoy on the go, it's not suitable if you are looking for a method to DJ live with Spotify - like using decks in front of an audience... So I'll explain how to do that in the next section. 

How to DJ With Spotify Live - Through DJ Decks#

If you want to DJ with Spotify live, using decks, a controller, or CDJs, the options are a bit more limited now. 

I hate to break it to you, but there are only two theoretical choices: 

• Buy and download Spotify songs through another service like Beatport or iTunes.

• Use an illegal Spotify downloader website to convert Spotify music to downloadable music files for free (disclaimer: I don't suggest this, but if you did...)

DJing With Spotify Live: The Legal Way#

This is one solution I propose. Rather than DJing with Spotify directly, you can buy and download songs from another music platform. 

Sure, you have to spend a bit of money. But, I think it's a nice idea, as you'll slowly build your own music library for the rest of your career. You can enjoy it whenever you want, you can take pride in owning and supporting musicians.

You'll end up with a refined and personal music library, that helps you to build your own iconic and recognizable sound - that your audience will love you for. 

Here's how to do it: 

1. Create playlists on Spotify of your favorite songs. You might already have a bunch. 

2. Make some lists of songs that you want to buy. 

3. Head over to some music-selling websites and start searching for your tracks. Here are some that I recommend.

   1. Beatport

   2. Bandcamp

   3. iTunes/Apple Music 

   4. Amazon Digital Music

4. Add the tracks to your cart, buy and download! Then you can load them onto your USB stick/DJ software and start mixing them up. 

I get it, this is the most costly method - but at least you're actually supporting artists, and not letting them get so ripped off by Spotify. On Bandcamp you can find a lot of cool underground music that you won't find on mainstream sources too. 

Sadly, there's no way to legally download Spotify music directly from the site, so this is also a bit time-consuming. But I think this is the best option really. 

You can also test out tracks in a mix using DJ.Studio to see if you like it, so you don't waste money buying risky songs that you might not use. 

Now, if none of the above options work for you, and you don't mind being a bit cheeky...

DJing With Spotify For Free: Don't Do This 😠#

You really shouldn't download music from Spotify illegally. And there probably isn't any safe way to do it, but I've heard of people trying this method. 

Apparently some websites let you download music from Spotify. I hear there are many of these out there, that don't actually download the music directly from Spotify but have some semi-legal workaround. So do your own research. And don't do anything illegal. 

Here's what you shouldn't do if you want to DJ with Spotify for Free...

1. Create some Spotify playlists. 

2. Use Google to find some kind of Spotify downloader website.

3. Paste in the Spotify playlist or song URL. 

4. Wait for the website to work its magic, and convert it to a downloadable link.

5. Download your tracks, and add them, to your DJ library!

I know this is a risky one: the audio quality won't always be good, you might download something dodgy, or even get a knock on your door from the internet police. So I can't officially recommend it, but it's just a theory of how you could DJ with Spotify. 

How I DJ Using Spotify#

So, things aren't as easy as they used to be, but you definitely have a bunch of options that give you a chance at DJing with Spotify. You just have to spend a bit more time getting the technique to work. 

I've worked out my own hybrid workflow, that gives me the benefits of Spotify's endless music library and the flexibility and experimentation that provides, with the power and stability you get from buying and downloading a music collection. 

This is my technique: 

1. Use DJ.Studio to plan out mixes and setlists. Using a mix of songs from Spotify, YouTube, and my own library. This lets me experiment with songs and try them out in a mix. 

2. Make a list of songs that I need to buy. First, I'll try using DJ.Studio's Beatport Legalize function, then I'll look at Beatport, iTunes, and other download options. 

3. Download my newly purchased Spotify music, and copy it onto my DJing USB stick. 

4. When it's time to perform, I can mix my downloaded collection on decks or a controller live, for my audience!

If you follow some kind of workflow like that, you'll have no trouble integrating Spotify's music library into your DJ sets. Good luck, and feel free to reach out to me via my email below if you have any questions!