How to disable music videos in Spotify

Spotify, that’s fair Let’s say, he made some strange user experience choices.

There are a number of panels in the app, and the layout is confusing. Service tracks constantly Your activity. The app also seems weird Hostility to playing actual albums. All of this works to create an overall feeling of that Spotify Designers try to get you to use the service in a certain way.

It’s understandable, then, that some people are upset with the way music videos have been added to the platform. For the most part, they will start playing by default, in the background, when an artist uploads a video for the song. Some music videos have a completely different sound than the original soundtrack, especially if they include sketches or sound effects, which can be distracting if you prefer the album version of the song. And even if you enjoy music videos (which I do), the decision to play videos by default — using bandwidth and battery power — upsets a lot of people.

There are a few other quirks. On the Spotify desktop app, videos are barely visible; It stays in the little album art panel until you can find the hidden, tiny little play button that enlarges it. And the selection of videos on the platform, and those that are mysteriously absent, seems completely random. That’s why I check YouTube first when I really want to watch a music video.

But the most annoying thing is that there is no clear way to disable all videos. That has changed recently– There’s now a toggle in Settings to completely disable Spotify music videos, along with controls that disable Canvas and audio video files.

On mobile, you can do this by tapping on your user profile icon at the top left to bring up the side panel. Then press Settings and privacyfollowed by Content and presentation.

Photo: Justin Bott

in Videos and cloth You’ll see three toggles: one for music videos, one for Canvas, and one for all other videos. This last toggle disables video podcasts, meaning you’ll get the audio-only version of podcasts instead. Turn all of these off, and Spotify will use much less bandwidth.

On the desktop app, it’s a little different. Click your user profile icon in the upper-right corner, and then click Settings. Scroll down to Videos and cloth Section to find options to disable music videos and canvas.

I tested this and it worked. The music video icon has disappeared in playlists and albums, as well as the collection of music videos on artist pages. The only remnant of the broken feature is the Switch to Video button in the Now Playing sidebar, which appears below the album art. Click on it and you will be told that the video can only be played if you play videos again in settings. Weird, sure, but mostly turning this off means you won’t have to think about music videos in Spotify anymore.

I sincerely hope Spotify rolls out music videos more carefully. Sometimes I really want to watch a video, but not every time I play a piece of music. Music video playlists would be welcome if played separately from audio-only playlists. I don’t want to get a music video when I’m looking for the album version of a song, and I don’t think I’m alone in that. I can only hope that Spotify’s future interface design choices will separate things more clearly.