Skip to main content

Thousands of users report a Spotify outage this morning

The Spotify app on an iPhone with Lana Del Ray playing.
Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

If you’re craving those sweet Sunday morning tunes, we have bad news: Spotify might not be working for you at the moment. On the morning of Sunday, September 29, users began to report trouble playing their favorite songs and albums. The trouble started just before 11 a.m., and by 12:20 p.m., DownDetector showed more than 40,000 people had reported the music streaming service was out of commission.

At this moment, Spotify hasn’t released any statements regarding the outage outside of a 12:14 p.m. alert that said, “We’re aware of some issues right now and are checking them out!” Users responded to the message with pleas to restore the service as quickly as possible, with some saying, “I cannot be alone with my thoughts,” and others saying ,”The silence is deafening.” Keep an eye on the SpotifyCares X account to find out the moment the service goes back online.

Recommended Videos

This isn’t the first time Spotify has paused the music due to an error. The same happened on September 8, August 4, and April 19. Hiccups pop up from time to time, but Spotify has a solid track record of restoring service quickly — usually within a few hours.

Howe to see lyrics in the Spotify desktop app.
Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

If you’re a panicked music fan, take a breath. The problem is on Spotify’s end, so the best solution is to sit and wait for the company to resolve the issues. Spotify can be a bit finicky at times, but we have a guide on the most common Spotify problems and how to fix them.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

If you need to fill the gap before Spotify comes back online, we suggest Apple Music or YouTube Music as viable alternatives. They might not know your tastes if you aren’t an avid user, but they’re just a temporary solution.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
Spotify’s AI Playlist creation tool lands in the U.S., Canada, and beyond
Screen images of the Spotify AI Playlist feature.

Spotify today announced that its new AI Playlist feature that allows you to use text prompts to generate personalized playlists is now available to Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.S., Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand.

First made available in beta form in April to Spotify Premium users in Australia and the U.K., the AI Playlist feature uses generative AI and allows users to either choose from a range of premade suggested playlist ideas or to use a text prompt to type in whatever they want.

Read more
Tidal vs. Spotify: Which music streaming service has the features you need?
Tidal home page on iPhone.

If you in the midst of choosing which music streaming service is best for you, when comparing Spotify and Tidal, price is an important, but not the only, factor to consider. Spotify stands out with its flexible subscription options, offering individual, family, and student plans, each with its own unique benefits. In contrast, Tidal offers various subscription plans, too, but Tidal's calling card is that it includes premium and hi-fi options, with the hi-fi plan providing access to lossless, hi-res audio. Spotify does not offer this ... yet.

Spotify uses the Ogg Vorbis and AAC audio formats for streaming, delivering audio at varying bitrates. At the same time, Tidal's hi-fi subscription offers lossless, CD-quality audio and hi-res audio files in FLAC and HiRes FLAC formats.

Read more
Spotify’s hi-fi tease is tearing my family apart
The Spotify app on an iPhone.

In the wake of yet another tease from Spotify on the potential coming of its long, long-awaited hi-fi tier, the flames of streaming music wars have once again been stoked in my household: I’m ready to dump Spotify for better audio quality, while my family is prepared to die on its lo-fi hill.

My wife, 13-year-old daughter, and I have been a Spotify Family family for years. But while we all agree that the Swedish streaming service’s UI, music discovery, and plentiful extra features are miles above the competition, I, on the other hand, have become accustomed to the sweet sounds of lossless and hi-res audio, and have had to sit at the sidelines gnashing my teeth watching every other music service add them to their platforms. And I’ve had it.

Read more