Here’s how to use Spotify to its full potential

Music ain’t what it used to be. That’s largely for the better. Subscription streaming services like Spotify let you choose from an almost unlimited library of a few dozen million songs for a mere 10 bones a month. With so many options, so many recommendation engines, and so many streaming services, it’s hard to pick where to start. But Spotify isn’t just for streaming. It’s smarter and more versatile than that. You can use the desktop version as a karaoke machine, keep tabs on what your friends are listening to, get a deal on pricing if you’re a student or part of a family plan, and keep your listening sessions private. Of course, you already knew all of that. But there are other, lesser-known features you might fall in love with. Welcome to the undiscovered side of Spotify. First thing’s first: Nothing’s more annoying than reaching the best part of your favorite song and having the drop interrupted by an incoming notification. If you’re using an iPhone, silencing those interruptions is easy: You flip the mute switch on the side of the phone, and incoming text messages, emails, and notifications won’t audibly interrupt your listening session. If you want to get more granular than that, you can configure and enable the Do Not Disturb settings in iOS.