How to Marry Your Music Device with Spotify

Older iPods, although outdated in terms of technology, are compatible with Spotify’s syncing tool. Anyone who’s used an iPod should be familiar with using iTunes software to copy, or sync, content from your computer onto your portable device. The iPod mirrors your iTunes music library, so whatever changes you make to the library are also reflected on your iPod the next time it’s synced.

iTunes knows when your iPod is plugged in, and depending on your preference, either it automatically syncs any new tracks or you tell it to sync by clicking the Sync button.

iTunes is an invaluable application for millions of people; no doubt about that. And Apple’s recent introduction of iCloud will help people wirelessly keep all their data current across all devices without having to bother with troublesome cables.

But iTunes is also a busy application, with a lot going on at the same time — and if you’re already using Spotify for streaming your music, why not use it to sync up your iPod, too?

Spotify first needs to erase most things on your iPod, apart from podcasts and photographs, and then replace them with the music that’s on your computer. Expect to lose the following:

• Music. (Spotify syncs music to your iPod in a different way than iTunes, so it needs to erase what’s on there first.)

  
  



• Movies.

  
  



• TV shows.

  
  



• Audio books.

  
  

Because all your content resides on your computer in the first place, you needn’t worry about losing master copies of your stuff if you back up your library regularly. In other words, any music, movies, TV shows, and audio books are erased from your iPod, but they still remain in their original state on your computer.

Your music is copied back to your iPod in a format that Spotify can work with, and your playlist structure also is changed to reflect how it looks in Spotify. Cover art remains as is, and you still can browse by album, artist, and track.

Only files you already own can be copied to your iPod, even if you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber who has marked several playlists for Offline-mode listening, because those offline files aren’t formatted in a way that the iPod can recognize — it can’t run the Spotify application.

To listen to those tracks, you need Spotify’s mobile app on your compatible mobile device. You can always buy the tracks in a particular playlist if you really like them and want to keep them forever.

In order to get started, imported all your local music files into Spotify. Familiarizing yourself with the concept of purchasing tracks and bundles directly from Spotify is also an advantage.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-marry-your-music-device-with-spotify.html