Use Keyboard Media Keys With Spotify App
After doing my own internet searches on the issue because I would like to know for my own Logitech keyboards, this is what I found-
I have a Corsair Vengeance K70 with dedicated multimedia keys that I can't seem to figure out how to use with the Spotify app, not the web player. The only media key that works is the stop button, but all of the other ones work in every other program I use. Does anyone have a solution, preferably o. For me, this iTunes media keys issue started only a few days ago. I thought back and remembered that I had installed Spotify on my Mac. So I've just uninstalled Spotify and my media keys are back for iTunes. Easy fix for me, I hope this helps. There's clearly a clash with the controls for these two media applications.
Spotify app is bad. As much as I love Spotify on the Desktop, and I like having it in my pocket, the mobile app is really kind of terrible. I can't sort and play by artist or album, I can't queue, I can't really do anything other than play a playlist. It doesn't release memory/storage either. Spotify, a music streaming company, has attracted significant criticism since its 2008 launch, mainly over artist compensation. Unlike physical sales or downloads, which pay artists a fixed price per song or album sold, Spotify pays royalties based on the artist's 'market share'—the number of streams for their songs as a proportion of total songs streamed on the service. The app isn't that bad. It has it's flaws like everything else has. I use my phone Galaxy Note with ICS 4.0.4 OS, as my only music device. I always just plug the device. Why is Spotify Android support so bad? By that I don't mean the Android application but actual support here in the community (some might argue the app is also bad, but that's a whole different discussion). Lets look at some statistics from the two pinned threads in the Android forum. 'Official' new application release missing feature. The Spotify App is so bad I am about to start pirating my music. I have an Andorid. I pay for premium. Spotify removes songs I have downloaded, it keeps moving my storage to internal instead of the SD card, Spotify is either unliking songs or not giving me a confirmation if I want to unlike a song since it is so easy to do.
Make sure you are using Logitech SetPoint.
Follow these steps.
1. Close Logitech SetPoint by right clicking the icon on system tray.
2. Open notepad with administrator (right click and run as administrator).
3. When in notepad, open the file 'C:Program FilesLogitechSetPointPplayers.ini' (Your folder might be named SetPoint instead of SetpointP on older or upgraded versions).( If you dont see this file you must select 'All Files' in the dropdown that says 'Text Documents').
4. At the end of the section [Players], add the following line:
spotify=wac,spotify.exe,SpotifyMainWindow,xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx,0,1,Spotify
5. Save the file. (If this fails or Save As dialog pops up, this is probably because you didn't run notepad as an admin. Since this is inside the Program Files directory, you need to be an admin to edit.)
6. Kill any processes belonging to other media players (especially wmp)
7. Launch SetPoint again ('Mouse and Keyboard Settings' in the start menu or restart the system) and verify that the media keys now work better.
Just a note : The keys are able to control Google Music through an addon after you close SetPoint. It will not work while SetPoint is open. This breaks all the other SetPoint keys while it is closed (zoom, window stack, calculator, etc.)
Another alternative is-
1. Open start menu.
2. Type 'Device Manager'.
3. Open 'Keyboards' from the list - you should see a Logitech Keyboard there.
4. Double click this item (or right click -> properties)
5. Click 'Roll Back Driver'.
This essentially resets it back to the original Windows Driver. This will break your other function keys.(Your mouse buttons will still integrate with SetPoint, just in case you use other functions on your mouse.
Install Spotify App
If you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber — get you, fancy pants — did you know you easily stream music from the command line?
Like, music from the actual Spotify library?
Use Keyboard Media Keys With Spotify App Free
Well, you can! And it’s all thanks to an ncurses Spotify written in Rust called (obviously) ncspot.
Now I know what you’re thinking: there is an official, sanctified, and (somewhat regularly) updated Spotify for Linux client for the desktop. It’s even available as a Snap.
Command line? Pah! Who needs it. We should use what Spotify gives us, for free, and say thanks, right?
And you’re right.
Well, half right.
Well, maybe not even half right because the official Spotify desktop app is aab outright, absolute, never ending garbage fire.
It works (sometimes) but it runs poorly. And while it might integrate with Linux DEs to the point I can smush a keyboard media key to skip a track, that’s only really useful if the thing plays some music to skip in the first place!
Maybe I’m being mean. But it has just taken me nigh on 6 minutes to go from launching the Spotify for Linux apps to it actually loading, let alone doing what I want (which is play New Found Glory’s cover of Eye of the Tiger in honour of the new Ubuntu 20.04 wallpaper) so whatever 💁🏻♂️.
ncspot is a CLI Spotify Player
Back to ncspot, source code for which you’ll find up on Github.
Windows 10 Media Keys Spotify
Keep in mind that as this is a geekishly (new word, learn it) cool tool and superbly designed (for a terminal app) it isn’t what a man more patronising than me would describe as ‘grandpa-friendly’.
— tl;dr: this is not the “easiest” way to listen to Spotify on Linux.
But it works well, which is all I really care about as I like to listen to music, not stare at it.
Helpfully the app even boasts support for MPRIS, i.e. media player controls:
And it can be configured with keybindings too — neat! Spotify cant access local file song closes app.
Media Keys Not Working Spotify
Oh, I haven’t even mentioned that it’s super resource efficient yet, either!
That’s what I call a table.
But best of all ncspot is very easy to install on virtually any Linux distro out there because it’s available as a Snap app on the Snapcraft store.
To install ncspot on Ubuntu run:
Boom — done!
The first time you run ncspot in a new terminal window you’ll be prompted to login with your Spotify Premium account. This is all “on screen” and easy to do. The app even saves your credentials after login so that you don’t have to login each time you use it.
And that’s pretty much all there is to it!
Be sure to take a few minutes out to glance over the litany of keyboard shortcuts needed to navigate the UI, manage tracks, queues and playlists, and so on.
Bad news: there are a lot of shortcuts to learn.
Good news: they are very logical and easy to remember.
Better yet, if you forget which key does what just press the ? key with the CLI tool in focus to call up a handy cheat sheet.
In summary, if you’re not put off by the idea of streaming music from a command line app and you happen to be a Spotify Premium subscriber there’s no better client out there than ncspot.
P.S., in case you missed the memo in the copy above, this client does not work with free Spotify accounts. I checked. So, for something similar, try Tizonia instead.
Try it out and let me know what you think of it in the comments — and if you fancy hand crafting a Yaru-themed colour scheme for it, do share it below!
H/t Popey