How to Download Music on Android in 3 Easy Steps

Key Points

• Learning how to download music on Android allows you to listen to your favorite songs offline, perfect for situations without an internet connection.
• Spotify is the easiest way to download music on Android, but it requires a premium subscription.
• YouTube Premium and YouTube video converters are alternative options for downloading YouTube videos for offline listening.
• Amazon Music and SoundCloud are other apps that allow you to download music on Android, but their availability may be limited depending on your region.

Most people nowadays are accustomed to using their mobile data or Wi-Fi to stream music. However, there are many situations where you might not have an internet connection. For instance, if you travel to a location that is out of mobile tower range or a long-haul flight. Or maybe you prefer not to use your mobile data.

In either case, learning how to download music on Android will make it possible for you to continue listening to your favorite songs anytime, anywhere. It’s much easier than you think, and it’s the perfect way to prepare a playlist for a road trip or flight. We will show you exactly how to do it.

Keep in mind, most of these options require paid subscriptions. However, all these apps offer free trials, so you can take them for a test run and see if they meet your requirements. The trial period should last long enough to provide you with more than enough music for your offline adventures.

Method 1: Spotify

The easiest way to download music on Android is with Spotify. The feature to download music on Spotify is only available with Spotify Premium. With the free version of Spotify, you can only download podcasts. Either way, podcasts are also great to listen to when you don’t have access to the internet. We will walk you through the exact steps to download music on Android using Spotify below. Thankfully, Spotify makes it very easy for you. Here’s how to download music on Android in just three steps:

Step 1: Open the Spotify App

First, open the Spotify app on your Android device.

Step 2: Select the Music You Want to Download

Select the track, album, or playlist you would like to download. You can choose from your library by tapping the library icon at the bottom left-hand side of your screen. You can also do a search by tapping the magnifying glass to the left of the library icon, then typing in the name of the artist or album in the search bar at the top.

Step 3: Tap the Download Icon

On the left side, to start downloading the playlist, tap on the down-arrow icon. When the icon turns green, it means the playlist has been downloaded.

Downloaded playlists will be saved to your Android’s local drive, so make sure you have sufficient space. Spotify tracks don’t consume much storage unless you download a particularly large playlist. Most Spotify tracks are around 3MB in size. Keep in mind, to keep your offline music, your Premium account needs to remain active. You can also enable Data Saver to further reduce the file size. We recommend enabling Data Saver before you start downloading.

Method 2: Download YouTube Videos

Most people who have dedicated PCs or laptops will use YouTube for listening to music. Maybe you want to listen to a specific mix that can only be found on YouTube. Unfortunately, YouTube requires an internet connection. There are two ways around this roadblock: YouTube Premium or a YouTube video converter. We will discuss both options in this section.

YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium enables the feature to download any video, including playlists. As we mentioned earlier, YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music. If you want to download a specific mix from YouTube, then YouTube Premium is your best bet. To access the YouTube video that you downloaded, tap on Library, and Downloads. YouTube Premium also allows you to play videos in the background when your phone’s screen is locked.

How to download a video from YouTube Premium:

1. Open the YouTube app on Android
2. Select the video you want to download
3. Tap on the Download icon

YouTube Video Converter

There are plenty of online tools that will allow you to download YouTube videos. We have had good luck with Y55s. Most of these tools offer the same functionality: paste the YouTube link into the converter bar and the download will start. You can find a list of other legitimate YouTube downloaders here.

Just keep in mind, YouTube videos, especially music mixes, can take up a lot of storage space. To reduce the file size, you can either select a lower resolution or save it in MP3 format.

Method 3: YouTube Music

You can also download music on Android with YouTube Music. Much like Spotify, YouTube Music can be used for free, but the download feature is only available with a paid subscription. YouTube Music is bundled with YouTube Premium.

How to download music with YouTube Music:

1. Open the YouTube Music app.
2. Tap the three dots next to the track you want to download.
3. Select Download.

You can also use YouTube Music to download YouTube playlists. When you sign in to YouTube Music with your Google account, it will pull up all the music you watched recently, including your YouTube playlists. To download a YouTube playlist with YouTube Music, select Library, and tap on Playlists. From there, tap the three dots next to your playlists and select Download.

Method 4: Amazon Music

Amazon Music is another app that allows you to download music on Android. It’s bundled with Amazon Prime. However, the version of Amazon Music that is included with Amazon Prime only allows you to download All-Access Playlists. To download any track, you need to upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited. What’s interesting about Amazon Music is you can select the audio format you wish to download, including Spatial Audio.

How to download music with Amazon Music:

1. Open the Amazon Music app.
2. Select the track you want to download.
3. Tap on the three dots next to the track.
4. Select Download.

Bear in mind, Amazon Music is not available in every region. If you can’t find Amazon Music in the Google Play store, it’s likely not available in your region. It’s also only compatible with certain Android phones. Generally, when compared to Spotify or YouTube Music, Amazon Music is not as widely available. Nevertheless, if Amazon Music is available in your region, it’s worth checking out.

Method 5: SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a community-backed music streaming app where anyone can upload their tracks and share them with the world. Maybe you found an indie artist and you want to listen to their music while traveling. To download music with SoundCloud, you need SoundCloud Go.

How to download tracks with SoundCloud:

1. Open the SoundCloud app.
2. Select a track or playlist.
3. Tap on the down-arrow icon to start downloading the files.

If you want to download your whole library, including favorites and recently listened to songs, head over to Settings, Downloads, and toggle Download Automatically. When Download Automatically is enabled, any track that you listen to will download over Wi-Fi for offline listening. You can also download tracks automatically over mobile data by toggling the Download over Wi-Fi only function.

Don’t see the download button? With SoundCloud, the owner of the tracks needs to enable downloads or offline listening. In this case, downloads are different from offline listening because with downloads you can download the MP3 file to your device. On that note, some artists will allow you to download the tracks but only from a specific website. You can only save tracks for offline listening with the app.

Conclusion

Our recommended method to download music on Android is Spotify. With Spotify Premium, you can easily download large playlists and have a wide selection of music available for offline use. If you want more apps to download music, take a look at this list. Now you can download all your favorite songs and have plenty of entertainment for long-haul flights or hikes!