Spotify Usage Guide

Spotify is a world-famous streaming service I’d never tried. I recently wanted a better music app and decided to give it a shot. Here are my notes.

Before You Start

Using Spotify from China has a few hurdles:

1. Mainland networks block it—use a proxy (Surge, Shadowrocket, or another VPN).

2. Free accounts work but have heavy restrictions. I’m happy to pay for reasonable services, so this isn’t a deal-breaker.

   

3. It’s absent from the Chinese App Store; you need a foreign Apple ID.

Accept these constraints and you’re ready to proceed.

Registration

Using a proxy may trigger: “Your account was not created. Your device appears to be connected to a proxy or VPN service…” Many proxy IPs belong to cloud providers, so Spotify flags them.

I registered with a VMess service routed through Macau. Check your IP at https://whoer.net/ first—make sure the IP and ISP look like a normal residential provider. DNS didn’t matter in my tests.

Sign up using a region-specific URL:

• https://www.spotify.com/tw/signup
• https://www.spotify.com/hk-zh/signup
• https://www.spotify.com/us/signup

Once registered, you can use the free tier.

Using Spotify

1. You can change your region in your profile, provided you haven’t subscribed yet. I switched to the Philippines. You can only switch to the region matching your current proxy. I recommend LightNode VPS for Philippines nodes.
2. The iOS app lets you set Spotify’s language independently of iOS.
3. New accounts typically receive a short trial of Premium (about two weeks) before reverting to Free with ads.

Premium Options

I suggest the Family plan; the Philippines region is the cheapest. I’m currently on a Philippines family group (≈21 CNY/quarter).

Key points:

1. Joining a family plan requires an email registered in the same region. When clicking the invite link, ensure your IP matches (e.g., Philippines). Enter the family address supplied by the host and you’ll see a confirmation like this:

   

2. If you prefer solo premium, pricing varies by region—the Philippines remains the lowest.

3. Paying yourself is tricky. For example, Hong Kong plans need Hong Kong payment methods; PayPal requires a Hong Kong account; mainland Visa cards fail. I haven’t solved this yet, so I stick with family plans.

4. The iOS app doesn’t support in-app purchases; subscribe via the web.

(Price chart from https://sspai.com/post/55367)

Drawback

One annoyance: Chinese lyrics are only in Traditional characters—no Simplified support yet.

Other Services I Tried

1. NetEase Cloud Music – formerly great, now overloaded with social content + copyright gaps.
2. QQ Music – social-heavy, shows ads even for premium, pushes MVs/livestreams when I just want songs.
3. Apple Music – search is painful; Chinese songs often require English names, lyrics are incomplete.
4. YouTube Music – search limitations similar to Apple Music.

In 2024 it’s surprisingly hard to find a satisfying music app. Spotify feels like the best compromise so far.

Conclusion

There’s a reason Spotify is popular. After trying it myself, I’m staying. Give it a shot if you can navigate the regional hurdles.