How to Play a Spotify Playlist on Google Home and Nest Speakers

Google’s lineup of Nest speakers—previously known as Google Home—are voice-command-based smart speakers, designed to be placed all around your home. Instead of having to use various button combinations or the keyboard, Nest speakers offer you directions, showcase verified information, and help you control your entire library of smart home gadgets.

Playing music is probably among the most frequently requested things from Nest speakers—they are speakers, after all. And, with Spotify at the top of the music streaming game, you’re probably going to want to play your playlist of choice.

Here’s how to play a Spotify playlist on Google’s Nest Speakers.

How to Install Spotify on Google Home

Before you proceed to play Spotify music on your speaker, you’ll have to make sure that Spotify is installed on your device. Well, actually, it’s more akin to linking an app to Google’s Home app than installing it, per se. Anyway, here’s how to do this:

1. Connect your mobile/tablet device to the same wireless network that your Google Home is connected to
2. Use your phone/tablet to open your Google Home app
   
3. Make sure that the Google Account that’s connected to the app is the same one as that on your Google Home device
4. Go back to the app’s home screen and tap the + icon on the top-left corner
   
5. Go to Music and audio
   
6. Select Spotify from the list
   
7. Tap Link Account, followed by Log in to Spotify
   
8. Use your Spotify credentials to log in

Spotify should automatically turn into your default music service, when linked to your Google Home app and device. Now, you can get used to the Spotify voice commands.

Playing Your Spotify Playlist

You can instruct your Google Home device to play any playlist that you want it to. Yes, all via voice commands. So, if you want to play a particular playlist, use the following voice command: “Play [insert playlist name].” For example, if you want Google Home to play the Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, you’d say, “Play Discover Weekly.”

If you want to play a personal playlist, things work pretty much the same. Just say, “Play [insert the name of your playlist].” The problem here may arise if you’ve created a playlist that shares the name of another popular playlist on Spotify. So, avoid doing this.

You can also play any playlist as pre-shuffled. To do this, use the “shuffle” command instead of “play.” For instance, if you wanted to play the Discover Weekly playlist shuffled, you’d say, “Shuffle Discover Weekly.”

Although your favorite songs aren’t considered a literal playlist, you can certainly play them using Google Home at any time. And, for all intents and purposes, this is a playlist of sorts. So, if you want your Google Home device to play the songs that you’ve liked on Spotify, use the “Play my songs,” or “Play my library” command.

Other Commands

There is a variety of other more advanced commands to use on Google Home for Spotify. For one, you can like and dislike various songs, playlists, albums, and artists. You can go back to the previous song, skip forward a number of seconds, shuffle a playlist, play a song again, and loop an entire playlist. Here are some of the commands that you might find useful:

• Like/dislike a song – “I like this song”/”I dislike this song”/”Thumbs up”/”Thumbs down”
• Like/dislike playlist, artist, or album – “Save this playlist”/”Unsave this playlist;” “Follow this playlist”/”Unfollow this playlist;” use “artist”/”album” instead of “playlist” for artists and albums
• Go back to previous song – “Back”/”Previous”
• Skip forward – “Skip forward [number] secs”
• Shuffle – “Shuffle”
• Repeat song – “Play this song again”/”Play it again”
• Loop playlist – “Repeat on”/”Repeat off”

Spotify Free vs. Premium

Although the Premium version of Spotify asks for a monthly fee, the price tag on it is very reasonable. The Premium subscription allows you to use the platform normally – playing the songs that you want to, using the maximum available quality, and steering clear from ads of any shape or form.

The Free account is different from device to device. For example, using the Free subscription on a desktop device will play any song you want to, but the ads will still be there. On the other hand, using Spotify Free on a mobile/tablet app will shuffle your songs and playlists, in addition to the annoying ads.

But how does this work on Google Home devices? Do they fall under desktop/laptop or mobile/tablet devices? Well, neither is actually true. They are treated like mobile/tablet devices in this respect. So, if you want to play a specific playlist on Google Home, using a Spotify Free membership, you’re going to be disappointed.

So, if you’re wondering why Google Home won’t play the playlist that you’ve asked it to, it’s likely because you haven’t gone Premium with Spotify. Keep in mind that the Premium subscription will set you back less than $10 per month.

Playing a Spotify Playlist on Google Home

As long as you’ve linked Spotify to your Google Home app and as long as you know all the necessary voice commands, you won’t have a hard time playing Spotify content on Google Home. If you run into any issues, unlink Spotify from your Google Home device and try it again.

Have you managed to play your desired Spotify playlists on your Google Home device? Have you run into any additional problems? Or maybe you have an extra tip for us to include here? Either way, don’t be a stranger! Let us know in the comments section below.