Spotify Premium Duo is a cost-effective way for two people living at the same address to share one Spotify subscription plan and save money. With Duo, you get two Premium accounts for just $12.99 per month, allowing both account holders to stream music ad-free and download songs for offline listening.
If you want to split the cost of a Spotify subscription with someone else, here’s what you need to know to set up and manage a Spotify Duo account.
1. Joining a Duo Plan
To get started with Spotify Duo, one person first needs to upgrade an existing Premium account to a Duo plan. This person will be the plan manager. Once the upgrade is complete, the plan manager can send an invitation to the second Duo user. Here are the steps:
- Open the Spotify app and tap on your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Tap on Account in the menu.
- Under Your Plan, tap Switch Plan.
- Select the Spotify Premium Duo option.
- Confirm the upgrade to Duo.
- In the Duo Plan Details, tap Invite, Someone.
- Enter the email address of the second person you want to add.
- An invitation to join your Spotify premium plan will be sent to their email.
The second user will receive an email from Spotify with an invitation to join the Duo plan. To accept, they simply click the Accept Invitation button in the email. This will direct them through the steps to link their existing Spotify account to the shared Duo subscription.
And that’s it! Both users now have access to a shared Spotify Premium Duo plan.
2. Managing a Duo Account
The plan manager has control over certain Duo plan features in their account settings:
- Inviting someone – The plan manager can remove the additional Duo user at any time and invite someone else.
- Address management – The plan manager can edit the shared home address linked to the Duo account.
- Billing – Payment details are managed by the plan manager.
- Profile controls – The plan manager can restrict explicit content and disable social listening for the Duo partner’s account.
Otherwise, each user has their own Spotify Premium for free account and can listen independently:
- Music libraries – Each user has their library, playlists, recently played songs, and recommendations based on their music tastes.
- Search and listen – Both accounts have full access to search songs, albums, and artists and create radio stations in the Spotify app.
- Downloads – Users can each download music to listen offline when they don’t have an internet connection.
The main benefit of sharing a Spotify Duo plan, compared to two individual Premium accounts, is the 50% savings on the subscription cost. However, users do lose a small level of personalization and independence.
For example, there is only one shared Duo Mix playlist generated each week based on the combined music preferences of both users. However, each user still gets their own Daily Mix playlist every day.
Overall, Spotify Duo offers an affordable way for two people to jointly subscribe to Premium features. With a few account management restrictions, users can independently explore Spotify’s huge music catalog to their heart’s content!
How to Accept Spotify Duo Invite?
To accept a Spotify Premium Duo invite, first open the email you received from Spotify with the subject “You’ve been invited to join a Spotify Duo plan.” In the email, click the green button that says Accept Invitation.
This will take you to Spotify to log into your account. If you don’t already have a Spotify account, you’ll need to sign up. Once logged in, your account will be linked to the Duo plan.
Spotify will verify that you don’t already have a Spotify Premium subscription. Duo members must have free Spotify accounts. Next, confirm your home address matches the primary Duo account holder’s address. You both need to live together to be eligible.
Once your account and address are verified, your shared Duo subscription will be activated! You’ll have access to ad-free listening, unlimited skips, offline downloading, high-quality audio, and personalized recommendations.
Accepting a Spotify Duo invitation is quick and easy by following the link, verifying your address, and activating your membership. Start enjoying the benefits of Premium with someone you live with.
How to Invite Someone to Spotify Session?
Spotify Sessions allows you to listen to music in real-time together with friends and family, no matter where you are. To get started, open the Spotify app and tap on the “Sessions” icon in the bottom menu bar.
From here, tap the “Invite” button at the top of the screen. You’ll be given the option to invite Spotify friends or copy a link to share.
To invite friends, toggle the switch next to each friend’s name that you want to include in the session. Once you’ve selected all the friends, tap “Invite” at the bottom. This will send invites via Spotify that they can accept.
Alternatively, tap “Copy Link” to copy a unique session link that you can share through another app like text, email, social media, etc. Anyone who clicks your session link will be added to the room.
Once everyone joins, you’ll see your friend’s avatars and what they’re playing in real-time. All session participants can browse and play tracks, albums, playlists, and podcasts.
As the host, you have playback controls and can add queue tracks everyone will hear together. Tap the “Up next” icon to add music to the Spotify app. You can also remove any troublesome participants with the “Remove user” option.
Sessions create an easy way to listen together while being physically apart. Send direct Spotify invites or share a link to bring friends into your session for a shared, interactive music experience.
How to Set Up Spotify Duo?
To set up a Spotify Premium Duo plan, first one person upgrades their Premium plan to Duo under their account settings. This person becomes the plan manager.
Next, the plan manager invites someone else to join the Duo plan. They simply enter the other person’s email address and Spotify sends an invitation.
When the recipient accepts the invite, their free Spotify account gets linked to the shared Duo subscription. Both people must confirm they live at the same address to be eligible.
How Does Spotify Duo Work?
Once verified and activated, the Premium Duo plan allows each person to have their own individual Premium account. So even though it’s a shared subscription, you still get personalized features based on your listening.
With Duo, both members can stream ad-free music simultaneously, download songs for offline listening, and get customized recommendations. However, there’s only one Duo Mix playlist generated weekly based on the combined tastes.
The plan manager handles inviting new members, updating the home address, and managing payments. But otherwise, each user has independence over account details, playlists, libraries, etc.
Spotify Premium Duo provides a 50% discount for two people compared to individual plans. It’s a convenient and affordable way to share the costs but still have personalized accounts. Set up is straightforward by inviting someone to join and verifying your shared address.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are answers to some common questions about sharing a Spotify Duo account:
Can both people listen at the same time on a Duo plan?
Yes, each person gets their own Premium account, so you can listen independently at the same time. Duo simply shares the cost of two accounts.
What happens if one person stops using Spotify?
The plan manager can easily invite someone else to the Duo plan by removing the current user and sending a new invitation.
Can we listen to music on different devices?
Absolutely. Each Premium account in a Duo plan can be used to stream or download music on multiple devices, just like regular Premium.
Does Spotify Duo work with Family plans?
No, Duo and Family plans are separate subscription options. You can’t combine a Duo and Family plan.
Is there a way to merge our music libraries together?
Unfortunately, each user has their own separate library. The plan manager can make shared playlists to bundle music from both accounts.
Can I manage my password and account details independently?
Yes, each Duo user manages their personal account details like password, email, date of birth, etc. independently.
What happens if we no longer live at the same address?
Your Duo subscription will remain active until the next billing date, but after that you’ll need to revert to two individual plans.
Does Spotify Duo work for couples in different countries?
Both members need to reside in the same country to be eligible for a Duo plan. It only works with two accounts registered in one country.
Conclusion
Sharing a Spotify Premium Duo subscription can be a cost-effective way to enjoy unlimited, ad-free music streaming when you have similar music tastes to someone else. With one account manager and separate listening on different devices, Duo provides a good balance of controls for managing a joint plan.
If you and someone in your household both want the benefits of a Premium Spotify membership, activating a Duo account is straightforward way to split the cost and start listening.