I'm honestly not sure what could be preventing you from running the standard executable file, as from my own experience I've never had an issue like that on Windows 10 and am able to install either the store or standard version without issue; however, I'm running the home version not the pro version like you, so it seems likely there's just some configuration option specific to Windows 10 Pro. Spotify Kids is a standalone app available exclusively for Premium Family subscribers and intended for kids ages 3+. The content within Kids is hand-picked by a team of editors, who have nearly 100 years of combined experience curating content for kids.
Spotify is my favorite and most used service I have, even more than TV and streaming services. Everyday I use Spotify whether I am in the car, working in the office, cooking, chores, and anytime I want tunes Spotify is on. No software or service is without its flaws and nuances but one issue got to a point I needed to address it. That issue was with the desktop app from Spotify.
Over time the desktop app became slower and slower, less responsive to the point of taking minutes to load one playlist. Uninstalling completely and reinstalling worked for a short time but eventually the app would degrade to that level of poor performance. That told me it wasn’t my machine but something with the app.
I searched for solutions and if others had the same problem and found may posts that did but no good solutions that worked. Until I came across a lone post with complicated steps. I went through those and those worked well.
The problem comes down to the cache management of the Spotify app. Overtime the cache files grow to a size that passed efficiency to the point of being very large and therefore more difficult the computer to use them without expending more memory and processing which becomes counter-productive. The solution is to clear out the cache files and then set a configuration setting in the Spotify setup files to cap the cache size to not bloat.
This post is to simplify those steps for both MacOS and Windows.
MacOS
- Close Spotify if running. Open Finder.
- Under the Go menu option select Go To Folder. (Shift–Command-G)
- Type in or paste this ~/Library/Caches/com.spotify.client/
- Click Go or hit Enter on the keyboard.
- In this folder you should see a Browser folder, Data, fsCachedData and other files. Delete all the contents. Command-A to select all, move to trash.
- Go back to the Finder. Same as Step 2 and 3 go to folder ~/Library/Application Support/Spotify/
- In this folder, look for a file called perfs.
- Open perfs in a text editor.
- Add the text in bold at the end of the file. This will limit the cache to 1024MN or 1GB. You can set this to whatever you want but this will cap the cache and not let it grow to an unlimited size. storage.size=1024
- Save the file.
- Delete the PersistentCache folder.
Windows
- Note <your username> is your windows login. Go to the folder C:Users<your username>AppDataLocalSpotify.
- Delete these folders – Browser, Storage and Data.
- Go to the C:Users<your username>AppDataRoamingSpotify folder.
- In this folder, look for a file called perfs
- Open perfs in Notepad or other text editor.
- Add the text in bold at the end of the file. This will limit the cache to 1024MN or 1GB. You can set this to whatever you want but this will cap the cache and not let it grow to an unlimited size. storage.size=1024
- Save the file.
Those steps for Mac and Windows should resolve the Spotify desktop performance degradation you are experiencing. It has for me and I wouldn’t waste my time writing this out if it didn’t.
For fun here are my top personal playlists if you are so inclined –
- Baseball Hype Music – Played music for my son’s youth baseball team before and in between innings. This is the playlist.
End of line.
Binary Blogger has spent 20 years in the Information Security space currently providing security solutions and evangelism to clients. From early web application programming, system administration, senior management to enterprise consulting I provide practical security analysis and solutions to help companies and individuals figure out HOW to be secure every day.
Subscribe
Facebook Page
Follow Me On Twitter
contactme@binaryblogger.com
Since 2008 Spotify has grown to be one of the most popular digital audio streaming platforms with over 96 million paying subscribers today. It is undeniably one of the best music streaming services in the world with over 40 million tracks accessible from your phone, tablet or personal computer. You can play your favorite music either through Spotify Web Browser or on Spotify Desktop Client. Apart from being a favorite platform for music lovers, the 'Spotify web player vs desktop client' discussion or rather argument have loomed the internet for some time. Lots of Spotify users prefer web player to access the music library. Equally, quite a significant number of users are of the second option, the desktop client.
The fact remains that both options are entirely different. Well, this review will profoundly attempt to compare Spotify web player and desktop app using the various pro and cons. Here are the aspects that form the notable differences between Spotify desktop and web player. Scroll right down!
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Portability
It is for a fact that the current generation is obsessed with controlling and accessing very thing from their palms. At the comfort of your room or working desk, you can easily access the Spotify track library just by clicking the Spotify icon on your desktop. Alternatively, you directly browse Spotify and play songs from the web. Both ways are convenient; however, for the desktop client option, you must have a PC at your disposal.
Using a web player only requires you to have the logins. You access songs from anywhere at any time you feel like. You even borrow a friend's phone and operate your account from there. Unlike using a desktop player which requires you to carry a PC along which is inconveniencing. Basing on this perspective, Web player is more portable and available compared to a desktop client.
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Music Quality
The current generation of music lovers is susceptible to the quality of music they listen to. Most people can tell the difference in music quality when using the two option, and others will not even notice it. Usually, the Spotify web player offers a lower bitrate compare to the desktop client. For free web players, clients get 128kbps bitrate while premium users get 256kbps bitrate. On the hand, desktop client free accounts can only access up to 160kbps while paying users access double the quality, 320kbps.
This is the main reason why people prefer using desktop client over web player. Even a free account has fairly good quality music.
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Offline Listening
Spotify Windows 10 App Vs Desktop
Considering this aspect, desktop client is more convenient. Desktop client users can easily save tracks to listen when they are offline. On the contrary, the opposite is true for web player user. Both free and paid accounts do not enjoy this feature. It has for a long time been a point of concern for Spotify users across the globe. Probably, they will consider this in the near future.
To save Spotify songs offline, you are required to sign up the premium account of Spotify. Otherwise you cannot download the track from Spotify even if you are using the desktop client. But if you are not willing to pay for the premium plan, the alternative way is using dedicated Spotify music downloader such as TunesKit Spotify Music Converter to download and convert the Spotify songs/playlists to common MP3s. In this way, no matter you are free or premium user, you can enjoy Spotify music offline on any device without limit.
- See Also: How to Download Spotify Offline without Premium
Spotify Windows 10 App Offline
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Space
Installing Spotify software on your, PC requires that have enough storage capacity to run the software. It also tends to create log files and hence not a favorite for a computer with little storage capacity. It will definitely affect the entire performance of the PC. On the other hand, operating a web player does not require space. You just need a browser, and from there you can bookmark the Spotify website for easy access
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Hotkeys
Windows 10 Spotify App Vs Spotify Program
Generally, hotkeys are paramount for any software. However, desktop clients do not have hotkeys. Hotkeys facilitate navigation movements. They are more useful when busy at work. Spotify web player provides for hotkeys; however, you will have to install the Spotify Hotkeys add-on on Firefox or Chrome browsers. Here are some Hotkeys for both browsers.
FireFox:
- Play/Pause: Ctrl + Alt + P
- Previous Track: Ctrl + Alt +
- Next Track: Ctrl + Alt +.
Chrome:
- Play/Pause: Alt + Shift + P
- Previous Track: Alt + Shift +
- Next Track: Alt + Shift +.
Spotify Web Player vs Desktop Client: Lyrics
If song lyrics are a top priority for you, then it is sorry to say that none of the options has that feature. Often, you have to download and install Musixmatch software and run it concurrently with the Spotify software. For Spotify web player users you need to install Lyrics Here by Rob W extension for both Chrome and Firefox browsers.
- See Also: Tips to Get Lyrics on Spotify How to Stream Apple Music Web Player without Subscription
The Final Words: Which Is Better
With regard to the above differences between Spotify desktop and web player, I can comfortably recommend Spotify web player considering the portability, space saving, and availability. You do not have to carry your PC everywhere you go to listen to your favorite tracks on Spotify. What do you think? Give me your comment right here.
Adam Gorden is an experienced writer of TunesKit who is obsessed about tech, movie and software.