Key Takeaways
- You can do a surprising number of things with the song you’re currently playing on Spotify.
- Options include repeating the song or adding it to your queue to listen again, adding the song to a playlist, and viewing the artist and album.
- You can also view the lyrics, enabling you to sing along, share the track with others, or even generate a radio station.
While streaming music is mostly a passive activity, there are things you can do with a song while playing it, from those you may know (such as adding it to a playlist) to those you may not know (such as using it to generate a radio station).
1 Repeat the Song (to Listen Again)
Are you enjoying the song you’re currently listening to so much that you want to play it again immediately? Then, you should know that you can repeat songs or playlists on Spotify.
To do so, just tap the Repeat button to the right of the Play/Pause and Skip Forward buttons twice. If you tap it once, Spotify will repeat the whole album or playlist you’re currently playing. But tap it twice, and it will add the current song to the queue.
You’ll know whether you’ve done it correctly when the icon turns green and has a “1” in the middle. If the 1 is missing, tap the button again. After you have finished listening to it, the song will repeat itself.
2 Add the Song to Your Queue (to Listen Later)
If you want to play the song you’re currently listening to again, but not immediately, you should add it to your queue. To do so, click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the Now Playing screen to open the contextual menu. Then, select Add to Queue. By default, this will set the song to play next, but you can easily move it to a later slot.
To do this, first, navigate to your queue by clicking the hamburger menu in the bottom-right corner of the Now Playing screen. Then, grab the song by pressing and holding it, then move it down to whichever slot you want it to occupy. You can also remove the song from your queue altogether by selecting it with a click tap and pressing Remove.
3 Add the Song to a Playlist (or Playlists)
You can add the song you’re currently playing to a playlist (or playlists) so you can easily access it again at a later date. The default playlist to add it to is your Liked Songs, which most people use as a master list of all songs they want to save. However, it’s entirely up to you which playlist(s) to add the song to.
To add a song to a playlist, click the three vertical dots in the top-right of the Now Playing screen, then select Add to Playlist. If you have already added the song to another playlist, the contextual menu will change to Add to Another Playlist. Either way, when clicked, you can choose which playlist(s) to add it to. You can even create a new playlist if it doesn’t belong in an existing one.
4 View the Artist Responsible for the Song
If you’re playing a song by an artist you want to explore in more detail, you have the option to View Artist. Just open the menu by tapping the three vertical dots in the top-right of the screen, then click View Artist.
Spotify’s artists pages contain a wealth of information, including the artist’s most popular songs, their discography, playlists they’re included on, and the number of monthly listeners they boast. You can also see any upcoming events they’re involved in and even buy branded merchandise.
5 View the Album That the Song Is From
If you’re listening to an individual song (maybe as part of a playlist), you might want to explore the album it’s from in greater detail. To do so, open the menu by clicking the three vertical dots in the top-right of the screen, then tap View Album.
You’ll be transported to the album the song is from, where you can see when it was released, play other songs from it, save it, download it, or play it in full. This is a great way of discovering new music; if you like one song from an album, chances are you’ll like more from it, too.
6 View the Lyrics (Available on Most Songs)
There are various reasons why you might want to read the lyrics to the song you’re currently listening to on Spotify. Perhaps you’re a budding singer who enjoys singing along with the original, or maybe you think you’ve misheard the lyrics (it happens to the best of us) and want to make sure you’re getting them right.
Whatever the reason, the lyrics are available for most songs on Spotify. The older and more popular a song is, the higher the chances are that the lyrics will be available. To find them, just scroll down the Play screen until you find them. As the song plays, the lyrics will be picked out line by line. And you can even expand the lyrics box if you want to see them in full.
7 Share the Song With Other People
One of the joys of making and listening to music is sharing it with others. It’s what musicians themselves do and what we, as consumers, can also do. Thankfully, Spotify makes it really easy to share a song with other people you know.
To share a song you like, just tap the Share icon in the bottom-right of the Playing screen (next to the queue icon). The Share icon is three small circles with lines connecting two of them. On this page, you can choose how to share the song with people, with options including a direct link you can copy and paste, plus all the social media platforms you can think of.
8 Use the Song to Generate a Radio Station
Last but not least is the option to generate a radio station from the song you’re currently listening to. To do this, click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the screen and select Go to Song Radio. Spotify will then create a radio station based on this one song, with more tracks from the same artist and other songs from groups with similar vibes.
Spotify boasts more features than most users realize, and these are just some of those available to you while you’re playing a song. So, next time you fire up Spotify, don’t just passively listen to that same playlist or album on repeat; explore the many options available from the Now Playing screen.
