How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

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F1nchy
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:08 am

How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by F1nchy »

Hi guys
I've had a search and can't really find anything on the wiki or in here that explains how MM5's syncing with Spotify works or what the different options do. For example, what does "scan spotify content to the local DB" mean? And how does the matching work? Does it write anything to the local files (ie my actual flacs) or is the matching data just held in MM5? And is there a way to correct mismatches, etc?
Hope that makes sense and sorry for potentially asking a daft Q....!
Thanks
Lowlander
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Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Lowlander »

It's designed to sync Playlists, for this files do need to be matched: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... rvices/5.0

Playback is limited to 30 seconds, thus although you can have Spotify content (your Spotify Playlists) added to MediaMonkey, including files that don't exist in your local MediaMonkey Library you'd only be able to play 30 seconds of those files only found on Spotify.
fraserp
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 4:27 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by fraserp »

Hi Guys and Gals
Just trying to understand the "Spotify Sync". Am I right to assume that the Sync is only one way. From Spotify to MM and not a 2-way sync? Reason this is important to me is that I use google home devices and have Spotify as nominated music server. I would love to have my Media Monkey playlists synced to Spotify so I can call them on demand using the google assistant. Is this possible at this point in time?
Thanks FP
Barry4679
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Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Barry4679 »

F1nchy wrote: Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:49 pm Hi guys
I've had a search and can't really find anything on the wiki or in here that explains how MM5's syncing with Spotify works or what the different options do. For example, what does "scan spotify content to the local DB" mean? And how does the matching work? Does it write anything to the local files (ie my actual flacs) or is the matching data just held in MM5? And is there a way to correct mismatches, etc?
Hope that makes sense and sorry for potentially asking a daft Q....!
Thanks
Hi Matt and FraserP

I don't have Spotify, but I did some testing of the (now defunct) MM integration with Google Play Music streaming service.

I don't know to what extent the MM-Spotify integration is a clone of what they did for GPM., so take the following with a grain of salt. I am only commenting here because the supplied documentation of the deliverables of MM and Spotify integration is next to useless, and nobody else seems to be responding.

Spotify has the concept of Your Spotify Library? , ie. Spotify tracks that you have tagged as being favourites? This was a part of the Google Play Music streaming offering. If Spotify does not offer this, that would invalidate much of what follows.

Your MM database is an index to your music files. The db contains a copy of the metadata information for your tracks (Album, artist, title etc), and it also stores the path to the disc location where you have stored the track.

When you then sync your MM database to an Internet location, like Spotify, it can do two things in MM:
  • tag match your Spotify (favourite) tracks against your MM database tracks, and where a match is found, it adds the Internet (Spotify) location to the disc location that it already knows ... and then these tracks in your MM database would then have two Source icons in the red boxes here; one for your local copy, and another for Spotify
  • optionally, the Sync can also create a new MM database row, where it finds a (favourite) Internet track that it can't tag match to your existing MM tracks ... take care with that option
Neither of these activities would have any impact on your local music tracks, ie. the mp3 etc files

In the GPM integration you could could also upload your own tracks to Google servers at no charge (for up to 50,000 tracks). I don't know if Spotify provides this service,

In the GPM integration you could also download GPM tracks to your local disk. Presumably this would be restricted to just tracks that you had uploaded.

You should be able to use MM to design Playlists in MM, and sync those playlists to Spotify ... that's how it was with GPM.

Or you could play playlists using MediaMonkey, which include tracks streamed from Spotify, although from what LowLander has said, there seems to be a serious limitation, which didn't apply with GPM. ... I don't really understand the point of what he described, because there seems to be no point saying that you can play Spotify tracks using MM, if the track cuts out after 30 seconds. ??

So the net effect was that you had expanded the concept of your music collection:
  • the MM db could cover both what you own. and also tracks that you don't own but stream on a regular basis
  • MM could record track play counts for all of these tracks, when you used a MM client to play the tracks.
  • You could stream from your own tracks, that you had uploaded to the Streaming Service, when away from home, using your Streaming Service client software.
  • And you could design playlists, using MM, and sync the playlists up to the Internet,
  • and then stream using these playlists using the streaming service client (because MM had built the playlist using Internet locations for the tracks, not the locations in your local disc drives)
  • and you could use MM to play from your streaming service, ie when you had your laptop away from your local disks, or just wanted to hear some streamed tracks while at home
It was all built by Ludek, and it was a beautiful thing, until Google shuttered their GPM streaming service.

If the MM\Spotify integration can do all these things also, I may take up a Spotify subscription :)
Want a dark skin for MM5? This is the one that works best for me .. elegant, compact & clear.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Lowlander »

It can Sync Playlists both ways. You can have MediaMonkey Playlists Synced to Spotify: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... rvices/5.0
Jameskb101

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Jameskb101 »

Hey

Great job to lowlander for providing the new MM5, vastly improved visuals and features, and I'm a long-time gold user.

Is there any planed (or already available) functionality to allow one to send their MM5 playback history to Spotify so that it can help inform Spotify about your likes etc, so your algorithms to find new music can be improved? I listen to a lot of older music via MM5 in high-res flac format, but then use Spotify for listening to newer stuff that I stream rather than have downloaded.

Would be great if the two could talk to each other in this way on top of syncing playlists.

Is that possible? Like a last fm scobbling feature I guess, but for MM5-Spotify.

Cheers

James
Ludek
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Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Ludek »

Do you think that "highly rated and most played" tracks in MM5 should become "liked" songs in Spotify after the sync?
Based on which criteria?
I suppose you can easily make auto-playlist in MM5 and sync this playlist to Spotify to accomplish this?
Liebhab-Baer
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri May 25, 2012 11:30 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Liebhab-Baer »

So did I get this right: Spotify checks out the meta data of my mm files? So if - for what ever reason - I add information to the title tag, it won't find them?
Ludek
Posts: 4945
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 9:00 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Ludek »

During the sync MM5 uses the metadata like title, album, artist, length for comparisons and the matched tracks are paired/synced.
F1nchy
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:08 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by F1nchy »

Am I correct in thinking that if you set it to sync with Spotify (as opposed to syncing individual playlists from MM5 to Spotify) there are tracks in the Spotify playlists you're syncing to that are not in MM5, MM5 creates a kind of virtual entry in MM5?

I've found a number of tracks in MM5 that are not in my local collection and when I sync to MMA I often get a couple of 'cant sync these files' kind of errors, and they all seem to be the virtual entry (presumably because it can't sync audio that's not actually physically in the collection)?

If I remove the Spotify sync it removes those entries from MM5.
Barry4679
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Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by Barry4679 »

F1nchy wrote: Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:03 pm Am I correct in thinking that if you set it to sync with Spotify (as opposed to syncing individual playlists from MM5 to Spotify) there are tracks in the Spotify playlists you're syncing to that are not in MM5, MM5 creates a kind of virtual entry in MM5?
Hi Matthew,

have a look at the Source tag for those tracks. ... in the File Properties dbox, or by adding the Source column to list of tracks displayed.

Those tracks should have an explanatory Source icon. You can use the Source tag to isolate and delete those tracks from MM if you wanted to. .. ie. filter or sort the display using The Source column, and then Remove the tracks.

Or you can probably de-select them from what what you are syncing to MMA.
It is not as easy as it should be. You probably (I have not got Spotify btw) can select tracks "downloaded" from Spotify ... ie. "Source is cloud (downloaded)" ... but for some disappointing reason you cannot restrict to tracks NOT downloaded from Spotify.

But you could try creating a Collection where the criteria is "Source is Network" (ie. your NAS). That should exclude those tracks, so you could then sync to MMA from within that Collection.
Want a dark skin for MM5? This is the one that works best for me .. elegant, compact & clear.
F1nchy
Posts: 103
Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2012 8:08 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by F1nchy »

Hey Barry

I removed Spotify as a source a few weeks ago as it was taking ages to sync (20 minutes plus, everytime I ran File > Add > Scan to pick up new files).

After I did, I realised that AlbumPlays was creating entries in it's DB for all the tracks played in Spotify that didn't it didn't have a physical entry for (ie cloud ones, ones that I didn't have, or that it had failed to match with) and I had to delete around 40 tracks from AP before I could continue using it.

I'm back to using MMA for mostly playing music on my phone and tablet instead of Spotify so have not added the Spotify sync in. It seems that I can still send playlists to Spotify, so for the time being I'll just manually do that for any that I want on Spotify and stick with MMA for my auto-updating playlists.

Although getting my Pixel 6 Pro to sync up is very hit and miss.....!
susanocraig
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:25 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by susanocraig »

I don't know how it works but I'd like to understand how.
mrfart
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:43 am

Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by mrfart »

What is the original score system of spotify tracks based on?
There is no 5 star system in spotify, and I never gave most of these tracks a rating in media monkey.

I guess it's not possible to order spotify playlists by date added?
Come to think of it, can you do that with the normal playlists in MM?

Thanks.
nonob
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Re: How does the integration with Spotify actually work?

Post by nonob »

Hi,

I'm trying the Spotify synchronization feature with MM5 :).
With MM4, I made the "sync" manually by just adding new tracks to my matching Spotify Playlist.

I want the sync to be one way only: from MM to Spotify, it seems to be how it works if I don't enable the option "scan spotify content to local database", but I have a question:

For testing, I tried to delete a track on Spotify from a synced playlist.
Then, I sync the playlist again from MediaMonkey and I thought the track will be readded to Spotify, but it isn't ! I have to delete the entire playlist from Spotify and make a new sync if I want to retrieve all my tracks.
Is it normal?

Thanks :)
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