This guide will show you how to change the location where Spotify stores any files that you flag to download in order to be able to play them when you’re offline. This can be particularly helpful if you have a large library and want to store it on an external drive.
ps. If you’re an Android user, you may want to check out this guide for instructions on how save Spotify files on an SD card instead of the internal storage.
Note: this screenshots/images used in this guide are from macOS. If you use the Windows version of Spotify, the steps are nearly identical.
- Open the Spotify Preferences by selecting Spotify from your Menu Bar, and then Preferences from the pull-down list. Windows users: select Edit and then Preferences…
- Scroll to the bottom of the Spotify Preferences and click the SHOW ADVANCED SETTINGS
button. - Scroll down until you find the section titled Offline Songs Storage. Click the CHANGE LOCATION button.
- Now select the folder where you want Spotify to save files for offline listening etc. It’s worth mentioning that Spotify creates a bit of a ‘mess’ when it stores files – it utilizes a lot of coded folder and file names. You will almost certainly want to create a specific folder to store all of the other folders that Spotify will create.
When you’ve selected the new location, restart Spotify.
- When you re-start Spotify it’ll move all of the files to the new location. As illustrated in the screenshot below, it does create a rather confusing series of folders with just as “strangely” named files inside them. It’s OK – you’re not meant to really be sorting through them, it’s just the way Spotify stores things.
I have something of a similar issue because I have an HP Stream with a relatively small SSD for fast booting, but need and external HDD for serious storage. I have noticed that, if I (dare) boot the laptop without plugging in the HDD Spotify automatically starts downloading everything to the “default” location and doesnt remember its on the external. Even if I go “hells teeth” and plug in the HDD, Spotify goes right on downloading to the SSD and fills it up “right quick”. Once you relocate the storage area, it’ll shift the cache and download everything “again” to the HDD, it wont recognise that everything is already there!!!! AArgh!! so you now have multiple copies. So to stop the HDD filling up with multiples, if you forget to plug in the HDD before booting up, you have to erase everything on the HDD and let Spotify go through its procedure from the start. This is clearly a flawed process and Spotify should come up with a window that says “Storage Area Not Available” or something similar and also detect the presence of previously stored data when the external is plugged in. Non of this beyond the wit of decent programming, but Spotify dont seem to give a stuff. If you happen to be on a MiFi when this happens, you can kiss goodbye to all your mobile data, or at least a good chunk of it before you realise its happening and pull the plug on Spotify !!
I found out this process myself, but when I do exactly like you explain here it simply doesn’t work!
I’m on a Windows laptop, and a while back changed the “Offline Songs Storage” Location to a folder on my F: drive. It also shows that exact folder whenever I visit the Advanced Settings section in Spotify, so it did register that I made that change.
However it seems like Spotify simply won’t listen to me (or itself) because it still saving all that offline song cache crap in it’s default folder anyway and it’s clogging my C: drive!!
Have you heard of other people having this same issue? A workaround for this would be a lifesaver for my laptop!
Excellent!!!! Works great, just like you said.