How to listen to Spotify on your Chromebook (or in any web browser)
So, you’ve just unboxed your new Chromebook, set it up, and you’re ready to go. You go to install Spotify, and realize that you can’t – Chromebooks only work with web apps, and Spotify’s site even tells you that it’s only compatible with Windows and Mac. Or maybe you’re at work, where you don’t have permission to install new software. Pandora just doesn’t cut it for you, and you’ve already built up some pretty sweet playlists in Spotify at home – but from the looks of it, Spotify doesn’t have a web player yet.
Don’t give up; there’s hope. And yes, Spotify actually does have a web player, but it’s hidden very well and not available on all accounts yet. Luckily, it’s fairly easy to get it up and running pretty quickly – after a long time of trying to figure it out for myself, I finally did, and here’s how.
- First, log in to your account online, and then go to play.spotify.com. If you’re redirected to spotify.com/us, then the web player is not yet activated on your account. Proceed to step 2.
- Click your user name in the upper right hand corner of the screen, and select Account. Click the link to manually enable Facebook on the right hand side of the screen, and follow the instructions to link your Spotify and Facebook accounts. Once you’re done with this, or if your account is already linked to Facebook, proceed to step 3.
- Activate the beta web player using this Facebook link, which will automatically redirect you to the web player.
- Bookmark play.spotify.com. As long as you’re signed in, this URL will take you directly to the Spotify web player, where you can listen to all of your music without having to download a desktop client.
And that’s all there is to it. I’ve personally been playing around with Spotify on my Samsung Chromebook for a while now, and it runs perfectly – even better than Google Play Music. Now, all we need is a Skype web app, and I will officially have no need for my Windows laptop anymore.
Way too much work for something that should be so simple. The Chromebook is Google’s Zune – useless outdated tech nobody is buying.
Nobody buying? It’s an Amazon bestseller.
This is a great guide to have spotify work on my chromebook. Really glad I found it, it was driving me crazy haha :)
Thanks for the article. I was excited to figure out a way to make this work. However, I tried every step you mentioned and it’s not working. My FB account is linked to my Spotify account and everything but once I go to play.spotify.com I get a “whoops” page from Spotify. HELP!
Hmmm – try accessing it through the Facebook link in the article. It’s working on my end!
Howdy from Jackson Hole!
Thankx for taking the time to share your discovery. It’s working for me; there’s even a button provided to drag over to the top browser bar.
I’m on my 2nd day using a Samsung 550 Chromebook & loving it. I’ll always keep a MacBook Pro for my AV system & a few technical things, but my old Mac Air was getting so slooooooow I hated using it, and rued buying it’s expensive 3rd battery.
John, if you ever pass thru the Yellowstone/Grand Teton area, I’ll grill you a steak!
Happy Trails!
Haha, I could never pass on a steak!
Dude, you just made my day. This is what i’ve been waiting for…. and to top it off the web player is actually pretty slick. Thanks a bunch. Shalom.
The problem for myself and many others is that at work, Facebook is blocked. Guess we will have to wait patiently…
ha ha-and that’s why theycall it work. i know i’m late in the reply but i’m OLD!
brilliant, worked a treat. I was dying here.
facebook link was sensational
Dear lord, I could cry in thanks to you! Thank you so much!
Thank you it works perfectly and it is very easy. I tried looking on other websites for help, but yours is the only one whose instructions work.
I got this to work on my iPad 2 using iSwifter flash player app. I downloaded ISwifter then when to this page and clicked the the facebook link and wow it works!! It took some trial and error with different browsers, even paid for a browser… but iSwifter was free and was the only browser that worked. all the other browser had desktop changers yet never got it to work
Thank you so much. I’m a spotify junkie and have it on all my devices and pc…thought I would be lost without it on my new chromebook. =)
Discovering the Spotify web player might have meant removing the last thing stopping me from trying out the new Chromebook. Thank you for this!
new chrome book – yay! Can’t install Spotify – gasp!! ugg.
wait, is that a bird? a plane? No! Its John Freml with the awesome save the day Spotify post. Legend – thank you.
Thanks! Hmm – I wonder what my superhero name should be?
hi! Hi keep getting forced into App stor on my iPad! Tip on how I may work my way around this? :s
Sorry, this won’t work on mobile devices. Only desktop browsers.
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Is this a free streaming of Spotify? Spotify requires the $10 a month premium to go through tablets and phones, and I wouldn’t want to pay that if I get a chromebook.
How can i get my playlists to download to my chromebook? I can download to my android phone, but not my c.book?
Hey there! I bought the Chromebook because of this article; music was the only feature causing me to hedge.
Unfortunately, I get a notice that JavaScript needs to be running for both Facebook Apps and play.spotify.com. I have done some poking around, and sources tell me that it is impossible to run Java on a Chromebook. Were these apps not using Java when this was written, or did your Chromebook somehow have it running? This bums me out a lot, I was looking forward to it.
Thanks for posting this info! Shame on Spotify for not making this a link from their page while they’re telling you that it’s only available for Windows/Mac.
And to all the haters: Too many steps? I’m surprised you can navigate thru your daily computing activities with success.
Actually I needed to do less when I went to access it. I wasn’t directed to the alternate website, and even though I was already logged in, I needed to log in again.
As for the Chromebook, some people need their expectations adjusted. I have a desktop at home and a laptop for work. It’s heavy and I can’t install apps or even drivers on it due to my company’s restrictions. Much of what I do for personal computing time is accessible via my Chromebook: my blog is hosted and accessible via the web, as well as my email, newsreaders, bookmarks, etc. If I must do anything resembling work with the device, I can access and edit most standard business document types via the Google apps.
I’m not expecting to run high end engineering or gaming applications with it. However I can very easily research technical topics, keep up my email, shop, search, and stay socially connected. As my teen says, ‘well, haters gotta hate’.
An open mind and realistic expectations is the key to happiness.
If you guys wanted to make Spotify Web Player working on your iOS or Android device, somebody has able to do that too: http://bit.ly/1cw0yGX
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