How To DJ With Spotify in 2024 (No Longer Possible-ish)

Mix using Spotify easily: Read our detailed guide on integrating your Spotify playlists into your DJ sets by using playlist transfer services.
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How to DJ using Spotify
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As the world of digital music rapidly moves forward, DJs are always looking out for ways to access huge selections of tracks, mix them in their DJ sets, and deliver amazing performances. In theory, Spotify is the perfect tool for this. Containing the largest database of music the world has ever seen since the music industry began.

However, as many DJs have now come to learn, this isn’t as cut and dry as you might think. As using Spotify directly in your DJ setup isn’t as straightforward as it once was. However, there is a small glimmer of hope so I can still show you how to DJ with Spotify.

Gone are the days where you could seamlessly integrate Spotify into all the best DJ software options like Serato, rekordbox, Traktor, and more.

So, the question now isn’t whether you can DJ with Spotify, but rather, what are the workarounds and ways of using Spotify in your DJ sets.

This isn’t all doom ‘n’ gloom though as, while it’s true that direct seamless Spotify integration has come to an end, we do have a few options available to us DJs today. This is all thanks for the magic of ‘Playlist Transfer’ platforms and services, which means we can use Spotify to create our playlists and do all the heavy lifting, we just then need to do some tweaking to get them integrated with our setup.

Just to be clear though, this article is not a guide on how to download Spotify music or how to download Spotify songs, this is purely a workaround only.

This guide will cover the history, challenge’s, and most importantly; the solutions, to help keep the sound quality of your mixes fresh and up-to-date by utilising the Spotify streaming ecosystem. Let’s get into it.


The Spotify Dilemma: Why You Can’t DJ with Spotify

I do love Spotify, I really do. With its user-friendly interface, automated playlists, and a seriously huge library containing over 100 million tracks, what is there not to like? It is literally perfect for DJing – but unfortunately, it isn’t quite that simple.

The catch here is, back in July 2020, Spotify decided to stop all third-party integrations with DJ software such as Serato DJ Pro, rekordbox, Traktor, and the djay app – effectively destroying the ability to Spotify as a legitimate DJing tool. Why? Well, apparently there was a bunch of licensing issues and Spotify decided to focus more on the domestic end-user as opposed to commercial and professional use.

I kinda get it, but damn. It hurts. The worst part is, No one really knows why they did this. When I was looking around online, I couldn’t find anything about it. Other than a statement from Algoriddim which says:

“As of July 1, 2020 Spotify will no longer be playable through 3rd party DJ apps. You’ll still be able to use Spotify in Djay until the end of June 2020. In the meantime, we’ve introduced new streaming services that will enable you to continue mixing all of the great music you love, plus give you extended access to new content and features.”

In the end though, what did this mean for Professional DJs? Well, in short, gone are the days of pulling in tracks from Spotify, with the graceful press of a button, into your professional DJ, software and into your DJ mixes – to put it simply. Instead of this seamless, on-the-fly, integration, us DJs are now faced with a bit of a stumbling block.

Imagine having built up the perfect playlist of the finest house bangers on Spotify for an upcoming gig, only to then realise that those tracks are, essentially, trapped within a platform that won’t communicate with your DJ software. Annoying? Yes. Stuck? Thankfully, not.

While it might seem like a bit of a setback, you have to remember that the music industry, technology, and even DJs/Artists or always moving forward and evolving. Just because Spotify decided to change something in their business operations, doesn’t spell the end of the world, does it?

What is the lesson here? Adapt to your surroundings.


Spotify AI DJ Mode: Don’t Get it Mixed Up

In the ever-changing world of digital music streaming, Spotify are absolutely at the forefront in revolutionizing the way we all experience music. This includes their new feature, the “AI DJ” or “DJ Mode” as some have recently dubbed it.

You can read more about it here: Spotify Debuts a New AI DJ, Right in Your Pocket

Now, before you start thinking of strobe lighting, turntables, and huge Funktion-One loudspeakers for surround sound everywhere, let me set the record straight: This is not your typical DJing setup. Instead, this new “AI DJ Mode” is Spotify’s super smart attempt and replicating the environment a DJ would bring to, say, a BBQ or a casual house party – without the actual DJ.

Here’s a better look at why you might want to re-think those expectations:

  • Redefining DJing using AI: The new Spotify DJ Mode has relied heavily on AI, offering a super-personalized playlist that mostly understands your music taste. It is almost like Spotify has an ‘intuition’, creating playlists that revive forgotten favorites or showing you brand-new tracks it thinks you’ll love. Remember though, this is more about creating a ‘background vibe’, rather than a dance floor.
  • Interactive, Not Skillful: Typically, DJs feed of a live crowd, changing up tempo, mood, and energy to satisfy the needs of their audience. The AI DJ Mode, while very smart, relies on your prompts and interaction with Spotify as a whole platform. It is a replica of YOU. If a track isn’t quite hitting the mark, tap the DJ button to change it. This AI then gets sharper and more accurate with this feedback, but it’s still miles away from the real thing – a human DJ.
  • The Core Technology: At its root, the DJ Mode is an amalgamation of Spotify’s personalization technology, insights from OpenAI’s generative capabilities, and realistic narrations from Sonantic’s AI voice platform. Imagine this more as Spotify’s good attempt at digital mind-reading.

So, how do you access this “DJ Mode”? If you fancy giving this a go, Spotify premium users in the U.S. and Canada can jump into their Spotify premium accounts and head to their Music Feed on the mobile app. From there, it’s a hands-free experience for the most part. Unless you want a change in tempo, mood, or artist, then you’ll need to do that yourself.

To sum it up, Spotify’s DJ Mode is a testament to their commitment to innovation in the digital music space. But for those who wish to replicate the inimitable vibes of a live DJ sessions, this feature won’t really do much for you. As for you DJs who are reading this guide, it seems offline mode definitely isn’t for you either.


The Workaround: Playlist Transfer Services

I know what you’re thinking – “This isn’t DJing with Spotify” – and I’m inclined to agree. But believe me, it just isn’t how it used to be. Since the move away from integrating with third-party apps in 2020, there are very limited options available to us now. So this is the next best thing, at least that I could find.

Let’s be positive though, and welcome in ‘Playlist Transfer Services’. These platforms have become a slight ray of sunshine for those who want to use Spotify to create their playlists and use in their DJ sets. Essentially, these services act as bridge, transferring your awesome Spotify playlists to another music streaming platform, one that has great integrations with all the big DJ software.

Now, there are lots of playlist transfer services to choose from, but we would recommend using Soundiiz. From my experience, and research of other tools, this one stands out for its reliability (no stuck loading screens, or failed transfers), user-friendly interface, and a long list of streaming services to transfer too.

I have been in touch with the developers of Soundiiz and they have kindly agreed to supply us with a discount code for our readers. Use the code DJTECHREVIEWSVIP to get 15% off monthly or yearly subscriptions. This isn’t an affiliate code, it’s just a discount code. So no commission is given if you decide to use them.

How to DJ using Spotify: Playlist transfer service I recommend is Soundiiz
Soundiiz is a comprehensive playlist transfer service with lots of destination options

However, go have a look for yourself and give it a try. They have a free plan which mean you can have a go risk-free. There are two other platforms that I’d recommend going to look at as well, which are TuneMyMusic and Free Your Music. Both of these options are also really good but turned out to be slightly more expensive when looking at what is included in the plans.

In the sections below, I’ll be explaining the process of using Soundizz, showing you just how straightforward it can be to transfer your Spotify playlist to another streaming service such as:

Overall, while the old, more direct, route of DJing with Spotify is closed, we have a workaround that might just save you a load of heartache and time.


How Playlist Transfers Work

Playlist transfer services offer a very simple way to solve a problem manys DJs have: moving their painstakingly curated playlists from one streaming service, like Spotify, to another. One that is more compatible with various DJ software that you will most likely be using.

Let’s get into it – how do they work? These services essentially act as the middle person. You connect them to your Spotify account, find the tracks and playlists you’ve marked for transfer, and then replicate these selections in the destination area, in a nutshell. This will preserve you music library structure and the order too. Since there is a huge selection of music genres available on all these streaming services, like the Spotify app, it’s important for these tools to be reliable, and ensure no song gets missed out.

Spotify Playlist shot scaled
Here is the Playlist I created for DJ Tech Reviews

An added bonus for amateur or professional DJs is the ability of some transfer services to merge playlists from multiple platforms. Imagine importing tracks from Apple Music, Soundcloud, and Spotify into a single comprehensive list for a DJ set.

This feature can be a proper game-changer, especially when us DJs are looking for new playlist to mix the most popular and trending music with our absolute dutty club-bangers – I promise to never say that phrase, ever, again.

Now, while this all sounds pretty simple, it’s the smooth integration and the acute attention-to-detail, like making sure that higher quality audio and preserving metadata, that make these tools worthy of using. And no, they won’t transfer cue points or performance pad settings – that is handled by your DJ software, so it’s completely separate.

Anyway, what I’m basically saying is that they are essentials if we are to using them when DJing with Spotify. Otherwise, it ain’t possible. Simple. Now let’s get into the details, and I’ll show you exactly how they work.


The Guide to Transferring Your Spotify Playlists

Righteo, so I’ve covered lots already in this article such as the pitfalls with using Spotify to DJ with, as well as the playlist transfer service walkaround and what they are, so let’s get onto how to us these services without wasting much more time, I have stuff to do. Okay?

First though, I just want to mention that with all the advancements in DJ software and platforms like Spotify becoming more and more central to many DJs’ music libraries, the need for an effective transfer service solution is super important now, seriously. This is where Soundiiz comes into play. Not only does it include smooth integration with Spotify, but also all the other major streaming services to transfer onto.

Step 1: Register for a Soundiiz Account

Head to the Soundiiz registration page and sign up for an account. You can use Google, Facebook, Apple, Spotify, or email to quickly register. After doing so, you’ll be redirected to the dashboard.

Soundiiz registration screen scaled
Soundiiz registration/login screen

Take a minute here to take a look round and get familiar with the dashboard area. It can be rather confusing at first glance. It took me a minute to get used to it, for sure.

Soundiiz dashboard scaled
Soundiiz dashboard, you’ll see this once registered or logged in

Step 2: Connect your Spotify Account

Head to the left-hand side of the dashboard, click on ‘Spotify’, and then press ‘Connect’.

Connect spotify account scaled

You will then see a popup which asks you to sign into your Spotify account.

Spotify asking you to sign in scaled

Once signed in, grant Soundiiz access to your Spotify account.

Grant Soundiiz access to your Spotify account scaled

Now that you’ve given Soundiiz access to your Spotify account, you will now be able to see all your playlists within your dashboard.

Soundiiz dashboard showing your playlists

Step 3: Connect your Streaming Service Account

The streaming service I have chosen for this guide is TIDAL.

Here we need to connect Soundiiz to your TIDAL account. Click on ‘TIDAL’ in the left-hand side and then press the big green button that says ‘Connect’.

Connect your streaming service account TIDAL in this case

You will then see the popup to prompt you to connect your TIDAL account and give access to Soundiiz.

Give access to your streaming service account scaled

Once connected, you will now see that the streaming service of your choice, will now have a green light next to it. For this example, we have a green light next to the TIDAL icon on the left.

Streaming service is now connected showing you a green light

Step 4: Start the Playlist Transfer

To start this process, click on ‘Transfer’ which is located under ‘Tools’ in the left-hand sidebar.

Click on transfer to bring up the settings scaled

As you click on transfer, this will open a popup and present you with two main options. These are ‘Source’ and ‘Destination’. The first option ‘Source’ is where you’d like to transfer the playlist from, and the option ‘Destination’ is where you would like the playlist to be transferred to.

Clicking on transfer will open a popup for transferring scaled

Simply click on either ‘Source’ or ‘Destination’ to choose respectively. In this case we are going to choose Spotify as our source and TIDAL as our destination.

choose your source and destination for playlist transfer scaled

Once you have chosen, you should see your selection appear in the popup. We are almost ready to begin the transfer, we have a few more options to select. So, you can go ahead and click on the green button in the middle which says ‘Start’.

Examine your source and destination selections scaled

Step 5: Select and Confirm Playlist Transfer

The next screen of this popup, will ask you to choose which items you wish to transfer. These include: Playlists, Albums, Artists, and Tracks. In this instance, we will choose ‘Playlists’. Once selection, you can go ahead and press ‘Confirm my selection’.

Choose what you would like to be transferred

Next, you will be presented with options of naming the playlist, adding a description, and selecting whether you want to delete duplicate track and set the playlist to private.

options for your transferred playlist scaled

Step 6: Select Tracks and Begin Transfer

In the next window, you can select which tracks you’d like to be transferred. The obviously choice here is for all of them, but you may spot a few at last minute that you don’t wish to be included. Then click on ‘Confirm’ once finished.

Choose which tracks you want included scaled

Review all of your selections, ensuring the right nubmer of playlists, albums, or tracks are to be transferred. Then click on ‘Begin the transfer!’ – away we go!

Review your selections overview

Step 7: Monitor and Complete Transfer

Watch the progress and view your transfers once completed.

transfer progress

Now you can see the transfer is complete, and your playlists have been successfully move over to your new streaming platform!

Transfer complete

Click the new playlist, and see the full list of tracks.

Your newly transferred playlist scaled

I can also see the playlist showing in the TIDAL desktop app on my computer.

TIDAL Playlist shot

Final Words on How to DJ with Spotify

From looking at the Spotify DJ mode features to exploring the functions of various DJ software, we’ve covered a wide topic area here. This demonstrates that DJing is always evolving and progressing. While Spotify has been a key player for many DJs and music fans, the goal posts have moved, forcing us to find some rather hacky ways to keep the idea of DJing with Spotify alive.

In an environment so reliant of digital products and software, having your music library and playlists at your fingertips is essential at this point. Platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have completely changed the game when it comes to interacting with music online.

Making your favorite songs and music more accessible than ever before. Yet, here we are faced with the challenges of integrating Spotify with various DJ apps like VirtualDJ, Serato DJ Pro. Which does seem rather stupid in this day and age. Thank goodness for tools like Soundiiz eh?

Whether you’re mixing tracks on a Pioneer DJ controller, exploring different genres, or trying out fancy DJ transitions, the essence remains the same; your hunger for the DJ game.

As you scroll through your Spotify desktop app or Spotify mobile app, creating the ultimate fire playlist for your next DJ set, just remember that it’s not all about the selection, but how you intend to use those sounds within your mixes and DJ setup in general.

Using the Camelot Wheel or fancy DJ FX can still enhance your DJ mixes, regardless of the platform you’re using though. Even if using a seamless spotify integration is a not possible anymore, with tools like Soundiiz and other playlist transfer services, your DJ sets can still include your Spotify selections and keep the dancefloor moving.

Keep going, keep mixing, and most importantly, keep experimenting. Remember that the world of digital music is constantly moving and you have to learn to adapt, find new ways to work, and overcome obstacles that come your way.

Hope this helps, I know I certainly found this useful and it has saved me a tonne of time from having to recreate all my careful picked playlists. The same will happen for you also. Best of luck.

Dexter has worked in the music business since the early 1990s. He has been a keen tech writer for many years and is still regularly involved in promoting prominent electronic music events in Ibiza and the UK. Dexter also specializes in managing and growing digital marketing platforms for leading international DJs, event brands, and venues. He relocated to Croatia from Ibiza six years ago but has continued his industry involvement whilst living on the electronic music party Island of Pag. Alongside music, Dexter is a cat nut and a through-and-through family man!

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