How to Back Up Your Spotify Playlists

Years of carefully built playlists live only in your Spotify account. If your account is hacked, you switch services, or a playlist you followed is deleted by its owner, they can vanish. Backing them up takes a few minutes. Here are three levels of backup, from a simple list to playable files.

Level 1: duplicate playlists you don’t own

Playlists made by other people (friends, curators, even Spotify itself) can be changed or deleted by their owner at any time. Make your own copy:

• Desktop app: open the playlist, select all songs (Ctrl + A / ⌘ + A), right-click and choose Add to playlist → New playlist.
• Phone: tap ⋯ → Add to other playlist, then create a new one.

Now the copy is yours and won’t change.

Level 2: export the track lists

A list of song titles and artists is enough to rebuild any playlist on any service. Ways to get one:

• Request your Spotify data: in your account’s Privacy settings, request Account data. Within a few days Spotify emails a download containing your playlists as JSON files.
• Use a transfer or export service such as TuneMyMusic or Soundiiz: connect your Spotify account and export playlists as CSV or text. Only connect services you trust, and remove their access afterwards in your Spotify account settings.
• Quick and manual: in the desktop app, select all songs in a playlist, press Ctrl + C / ⌘ + C, and paste into a text file. You get a list of Spotify links, one per song.

Save these files somewhere safe, such as your cloud storage or an email to yourself.

Level 3: keep playable copies

For playlists you really can’t lose (the songs from your wedding, a late friend’s favourites, the soundtrack of a trip), keep the music itself as files:

1. Copy the playlist’s link (⋯ → Share → Copy link).
2. Open Spot Downloader, paste the link and press Open.
3. Press Download all. Each song is saved as an MP3 with its album cover, one after another.

There’s a limit of 50 songs per visitor per day, so a long playlist takes a few days; press Download the rest to continue where you stopped. The tool site has a step-by-step guide to downloading a Spotify playlist.

Name a folder after each playlist and keep the exported track list in it too.

Where to keep backups

• Cloud storage (Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox) for the track lists: tiny files, always available.
• An external drive or second computer for MP3 folders.
• Follow the 3-2-1 rule for anything precious: three copies, two kinds of storage, one off-site.

Moving to another service

The track lists from Level 2 can be imported into Apple Music, YT Music, Deezer, Tidal and others with the same transfer services. Matching isn’t always perfect, so check the results for missing or wrong versions.

Keep your account safe

Most lost playlists are actually lost accounts. Use a unique password, keep your email account secure, and review Apps connected to your Spotify account now and then.