Duplicate songs in Spotify playlists can clutter your music library and disrupt your listening flow. Here’s how to manage and remove them efficiently.
Identifying Duplicates
Duplicates can be exact matches or different versions (e.g., live, radio edit, remastered) of the same song. Sorting playlists by title in the desktop app is often the easiest way to spot them visually. Pay attention to the song title, artist, and album.
Manual Removal
For smaller playlists or when you want precise control, manual removal is effective.
On Spotify Desktop App:
- Open the playlist you want to clean.
- Click on the "TITLE" column header to sort songs alphabetically. This groups potential duplicates together.
- Scroll through the list and identify the duplicate tracks. To select multiple tracks, hold down Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) and click on each duplicate song.
- Right-click on one of the selected duplicate tracks (or press the Delete key on your keyboard).
- Select "Remove from this Playlist".
On Spotify Mobile App:
- Open the relevant playlist.
- Manually scroll through your playlist to find duplicates. Sorting options are more limited on mobile, making this process more suitable for shorter playlists.
- Tap the three dots () next to the duplicate song you wish to remove.
- Select "Remove from this Playlist".
Using Third-Party Solutions (General Approach)
While Spotify does not have a built-in feature to automatically remove all duplicates across your library or within large playlists, various external web-based tools or applications are designed for this purpose. These typically work by:
- Requesting authorization to access your Spotify account and playlists.
- Scanning your selected playlists or entire library for duplicate tracks based on metadata like title, artist, and album.
- Presenting a list of detected duplicates, often allowing you to review them before removal.
- Removing the confirmed duplicates from your playlists.
When considering such tools, ensure they come from reputable sources and be aware of the permissions you grant to your Spotify account.
Tips for Preventing Duplicates
- Be Mindful When Adding: Before adding a song to a playlist, quickly check if it's already present, especially in longer playlists. Spotify sometimes indicates if a song is already in a playlist, but this is not always foolproof.
- Regular Audits: Periodically review your frequently used or very large playlists for duplicates, especially if you add music from various sources or multiple devices.
- Consistent Tagging: While not directly controllable by users for Spotify's catalog, be aware that variations in song metadata (e.g., "Song Title" vs. "Song Title (Remastered)") can lead to perceived duplicates that are technically different tracks.
