How To Start A Listening Party On Spotify PC?

A listening party on Spotify allows you to sync up with friends and listen to the same music in real time while chatting. Though typically associated with mobile, Spotify listening parties can also be easily started right from your PC.

Read on to learn how to host and join listening parties on desktop to liven up long distance hangouts with synced tunes and shared reactions as you all listen together.

What is a Spotify Listening Party?

A Spotify listening party (also called Spotify Group Session) lets multiple people join a shared session to simultaneously listen to the same tracks and playlists while hanging out together virtually.

Key features of Spotify listening parties include:

• Ability to add tracks to a group queue that everyone can listen to in sync.
• See what friends are playing in real time and view their reactions.
• Chat messaging with other listening party participants.
• Joint playback controls so anyone can pause, skip, or change tracks.
• Save ongoing playlists and share to social media.

So it makes for a fun way to bond over shared musical likes and different tastes while separated over long distances.

How to Start a Listening Party on Desktop

Here are the steps to host a listening party on your Windows or Mac Spotify app:

1. Click on the Connect menu (speaker icon) next to your profile name.
2. Select “Start a session” to begin a new listening party.
3. Come up with a listening party name and short description.
4. Set privacy to open or private session.
5. Click “Create Session” when ready.
6. The party session will generate a unique link that you can then share however you want to invite friends.

Once people join the session, you can see listeners, queue up songs, chat and control playback in sync.

Joining a Spotify Listening Party on PC

Follow these steps to join a Spotify listening party on desktop once you’ve received a session invite link:

1. Click the invite link which will open Spotify web player.
2. If prompted, log into your Spotify account in the web player.
3. Click “Join Session” and you’ll be added to the active listening party.
4. You can now see the queue, other listeners, chat and control playback.
5. React to songs with emojis and share your thoughts in chat!

Joining is seamless as long as you have the shared party link and a Spotify account to connect with.

Listening Party Playback and Queue Tips

Once in a Spotify party session on desktop, here are some handy tips for controlling playback and music queue:

• Add tracks via search or browse to add songs to the bottom of the queue.
• Click “Play Next” on any song to play it immediately after the current track.
• Use the playback bar to play, pause, skip, or jump to any point.
• Like or dislike current songs to give your feedback.
• Reorder the queue by dragging and dropping tracks.
• Remove tracks from the queue you don’t want to hear.
• See friend’s real-time reactions to each song scrolling by!

Controlling the dynamic queue is easy and intuitive either from desktop app or web player.

Features of Spotify Listening Parties on PC

In addition to shared playback controls, Spotify listening parties on desktop also offer some cool features:

• Text and video chat – Seamlessly chat via text messages or video.
• Share to social – Easily share your session to Instagram, Snapchat and more.
• Listener count – See how many total people are currently joined.
• Party diagnostics – Check connectivity status and audio quality.
• Persistent queue – Songs stay in queue even if you leave and rejoin.
• Private sessions – Keep your party contained to just those you invite.
• Cross-platform – Support for both desktop and mobile participants.

So take advantage of built-in chat, sharing tools and diagnostics to optimize the listening party experience.

Tips for Great Spotify Listening Parties

To ensure your Spotify listening party is fun for all:

• Come prepared with playlist ideas or let listeners crowdsource tracks.
• Take turns choosing songs to get a good mix.
• Stick to a theme like 90s alt-rock or top 40 hits.
• Share the queue and chat with video watch parties for full interaction.
• Hide embarrassing songs from your profile before joining shared sessions!
• Collaborate on a shared playlist for everyone to enjoy even later.
• Keep it manageable with just a few close friends first before going bigger.
• Set a schedule like every Friday night to make it a regular virtual event.

With a little planning, Spotify listening parties can become a staple for staying connected with awesome friends and awesome music.

Troubleshooting Spotify Listening Party Issues

For a smooth listening party, be sure everyone has the latest Spotify app, stable internet connections, and updated software. But issues can still come up:

• Can’t join session – Make sure you were invited or have valid session link. Reboot app and try joining again.
• Sync issues – Laggy connections can cause playback to go out of sync between users. Have party host restart session.
• No audio – Verify your streaming device volume is up and Spotify app volumes are turned up. Retry connecting to session.
• Can’t see friends – Ask them to refresh and reconnect from their end. Make sure all privacy settings allow session sharing.

If significant ongoing technical issues ruin your listening party vibes, your best bet is to have the party host reboot the session which gives a fresh start.

Have an Epic Listening Party on Desktop!

Bringing listening parties to desktop finally allows Spotify PC users to join in on the real-time shared music fun.

Liven up study sessions, family hangouts, birthday parties or game nights with synced tunes. Listening together but apart on Spotify is a great way to bond over mutual jams.

So gather your best desktop playlists, send out those listening party invites and get ready to react to awesome music with friends in real time – no matter how far apart you may be! Just be sure to brush up on those queue skills first.