How to Play Music on Discord in 2 Simple Steps

So, you have a Discord server and want to set the vibe by playing music for everyone. Even better, members of the server can queue up their songs. Playing music on Discord is a great way to hang out with friends.

There are a few different ways to play music on Discord, and we will cover each in detail below. Let’s get started!

What is Discord?

Discord is a free messaging app available across all platforms. It’s targeted toward gamers and anyone can create a server. There are servers available for a wide range of communities, topics, and hobbies.

The app supports voice chat, video calls, text messaging, media sharing, and many other features. It’s a great way to make friends with people who share common interests!

Method #1: Play Music on Discord with a Music Bot

The best way to play music on Discord is to use a music bot. A music bot can join active voice calls and stream music from various platforms that everyone on the call can hear. Setting up a music bot on Discord might seem tricky at first but it’s rather straightforward.

The first step is to choose the Discord bot you want to use. You can use Discord Bots or Top.GG to search for specific bots. The steps are practically the same for every bot.

In our example below, we will use Green-bot, a well-known Discord music bot. It’s very easy to set up.

You can also follow this video tutorial:

Step #1: Start a New Server

Before you start, you will need to create a new Discord server. You can also install a bot on an existing server but you will need to have full administrator privileges.

Next, open Discord on your computer and sign in. If you’re not sure how to make a server, read this article.

Step #2: Install Green-bot

When Discord is open, visit the Green-bot page, click on Invite, and grant it access to your Discord account and server.

If you are not logged into your Discord account, you will need to do so. On Discord, you should see a new message that the bot has joined your server.

Step #3: Start Playing Music with Bot Commands

To use the bot, join an active voice channel and type a text command to trigger the bot. For example, the command /play Post Malone will queue up a song from Post Malone.

Green-bot will only work if there’s at least one person in a voice channel. The Premium edition of Green-bot allows you to play tracks from specific links such as YouTube or Spotify.

Step #4: Configure the Bot

You can also type a backslash and browse through the list of available commands. To adjust the volume, right-click on Green-bot under the voice channel and adjust the volume slider.

Unfortunately, changing the default volume for everyone on the server is a premium feature. However, there are many other settings you can configure, including the option to allow people to vote on tracks.

Method #2: Create a Listen Along Invite with Spotify

Another way to play music on Discord is to link your Spotify account and invite people to listen along. This will also allow your Discord friends to see your Spotify status. The downside to this method is you won’t be able to talk at the same time, as it’s only for listening to music together.

For this to work, everyone needs to have Spotify Premium and link their Discord and Spotify accounts.

Step #1: Link Discord and Spotify

Open Discord and click on the gear icon in the bottom left corner, next to your profile.

Under the Connections tab, search for Spotify, and click on the Spotify logo. When you click on the logo, your default browse should open and it will automatically link your Discord and Spotify accounts.

Step #2: Create a Listen Along Invite

Now you can invite members of your server to listen along on Spotify. To do that, head back to your Discord server, tap the plus icon in the text channel, and select Invite to Listen on Spotify.

The link will remain active until you close Spotify.

How to Play Custom Ambient Music on Discord

While most music bots can fetch and stream tracks from artists, what if you want to create your custom music, such as for a Dungeons and Dragons session? For example, let’s say you want to create looping ambient music for certain parts of your DnD campaign.

Method #1: Stream Music in a Separate Tab

If you want to stream music that is not available using the other methods, you can use Discord’s live stream features to share your screen and invite your server members to watch. This works best if you have multiple monitors.

1. Open the media you want to share with your server.
2. Move the window to one of your monitors.
3. In Discord, select Share Your Screen, and select the monitor that has your media.
4. Select the stream quality settings and Go Live.
5. Invite your members to watch the stream.

Of course, this method highly depends on the speed and stability of your internet connection. For more detailed instructions, read this article.

Method #2: Use Kenku FM

Kenku FM is an audio-sharing app designed specifically for tabletop games. It has a built-in browser that makes it easy for you to find media (either online or local files) and even mix sound effects.

You can link Kenku FM to your Discord server and then quickly change the music on the fly. Kenku FM is a little tricky to set up at first because it requires you to make your own Discord bot and then link Kenku FM to that new bot. It takes about 15 minutes to link Kenku FM to your Discord server. You can follow this tutorial for the specific steps.

Once it’s linked to your server, you can control the media sent to your Discord server from within the Kenku FM application and you can quickly switch between playlists. It’s much easier than typing in-text commands for specific tracks.

Bear in mind, with Kenku FM, other members of your server won’t be able to change the music. It will all be under your control.

Additional Discord Music Bot Tips

Create a Separate Text Channel for Bot Commands

To keep your main Discord text channel clean from bot commands and messages, you can make a new text channel just for the bot.

Click on the plus icon next to Text Channels and create a new text channel with a label called bot commands or something similar. Then, click on the gear icon next to the text channel’s name, toggle the option to make the channel private, and add Green-bot as a member.

Now you can type the bot commands in this text channel and no one will see them besides you (and the members you want to access the bot).

Install Several Bots on the Same Server

Sometimes a bot can run into issues or have trouble processing requests due to high demand. Luckily, it’s possible to install several bots on the same server. So, when one bot has problems, you can easily use a backup bot. Just make sure the bots don’t conflict with one another.

You can also remove bots by clicking on the Show Members button, right-clicking the bot’s name, and selecting Kick.

Wrap Up

Playing music on Discord might seem tricky at first but it can make the vibes of your server immaculate! It’s nice to have some relaxing music playing in the background while you chat with friends or play a casual game together.

For music, we recommend using one of the many music bots. Green-bot is good for most cases, while Kenku FM is a more advanced program for mixing audio and DnD sessions.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Sergei Elagin/Shutterstock.com.