How to Listen to Music Offline with a MacBook

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

Want to take your music with you, where you won't have Internet? This guide will show you how to download your favorite songs with Spotify, so you always have your music available.

Spotify

In order to download and listen to songs offline, you must have a Premium account with Spotify.

2. Download Songs

Spotify gives you the ability to curate a personal playlist made up of your favorite songs. If you wish to download individual songs, you must first put them onto this playlist and then download the playlist.

Add to Your Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Browse on the left, or Search field at the top, and locate the songs you'd like to download.
Browse

Search
  1. When you see a song you want to download for later, select Save next to it.
Save
  1. Repeat these steps for any other songs you want to keep.

Download Your Song Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Songs on the left.
Songs menu entry
  1. At the top right, turn the toggle switch On for Download.
Toggle switch On.
  1. Spotify will download the songs you've put into Your Library, so they can be played when you are away from the Internet.

3. Play Downloaded Music

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select a heading from Your Library on the left.
  2. In Songs, if the Downloaded switch is On, all items here are downloaded and ready to play while you're offline.
Toggle switch On.
  1. In Albums, turn On Saved Albums Only to show only albums you have downloaded.
Toggle switch On.
  1. Local Files are always available offline, as they are songs you've saved or created, and are stored locally on your computer.
  2. In other categories, look for the checkmark next to the song; that shows if you have downloaded it.
Checkmark
  1. Under Playlists, if the playlist has a green arrow next to it, it is downloaded and ready to play while you are not online.
Downloaded

4. Download Playlist

Download A Playlist Outside Your Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Browse on the left, or Search field at the top, and locate the songs you'd like to download.
Browse

Search
  1. Select the Follow button near the top to follow the Playlist.
Follow button
  1. Set the Download songs toggle switch to On for the playlist.
Toggle switch On.
  1. Repeat these steps for any other playlists you want to keep.

Download A Playlist Inside Your Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select a Playlist from the list on the left.
  2. At the top, set the Download toggle switch to On for the playlist.
Toggle switch On.
  1. Repeat these steps for any other playlists you'd like to download.

5. Download Album

Download An Album Outside Your Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Browse on the left, or Search field at the top, and locate the songs you'd like to download.
Browse

Search
  1. Select the Save button at the top.
Save button
  1. Repeat these steps for any other playlists you want to keep.

Download An Album Inside Your Library

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Albums from Your Library on the left.
Albums
  1. Select the album you want to download.
  2. Select the Save button at the top.
Save button
  1. Repeat these steps for any other albums you'd like to download.

6. Remove Downloaded Music

Removing music doesn't delete it forever. You can still play any music you remove.

Spotify will simply stream it to your device, rather than having it stored on your device, taking up space.

7. Remove Downloaded Song

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Songs on the left.
Songs menu entry
  1. Select the checkmark next to the song to remove it from downloads.
Checkmark
  1. The checkmark will turn into an X when you hover over it, showing it will be removed.
Remove

8. Remove Downloaded Playlist

Remove A Single Song From A Playlist

You cannot edit someone else's public Playlist. Only a Playlist you have created.

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select the Playlist you wish to edit from the list on the left.
  2. Select the Menu next to the song you wish to remove.
Menu
  1. Select Remove from this Playlist.
Song menu with Remove from this Playlist highlighted.

Remove An Entire Playlist From Downloads

This does not delete the playlist itself. The playlist remains intact, and playable via streaming, but the songs themselves are no longer copied to your device.

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select the Playlist you wish to remove on the left.
  2. Set the toggle switch for Downloaded to Off.
Toggle Switch turned Off.

Delete An Entire Playlist

You cannot delete someone else's public Playlist. Only a Playlist you have created.

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select the Playlist you wish to delete from the menu on the left.
  2. Select the Menu at the top, next to the Play button.
Playlist Menu
  1. Select Delete from the menu.
Playlist Menu with Delete highlighted.

9. Remove Downloaded Album

  1. Open Spotify.
Spotify
  1. Select Albums from Your Library on the left.
Albums
  1. Select the album you wish to remove.
  2. Select Saved at the top.
Saved button.

  1. The text of the button will become Remove when you hover over the button, to indicate what it will do.
Remove Button.