I’m trying to create an Android application that connects with Spotify’s services. I’ve been searching through their developer documentation but I can’t seem to find any specific mobile SDK or library for Android development.
Has anyone successfully integrated Spotify functionality into their Android app? What approach did you use?
If Spotify doesn’t provide an Android SDK, what are some good alternatives? Are there other music streaming platforms that offer better mobile development support for Android apps?
I’m particularly interested in features like playlist management, track searching, and playback control. Any suggestions or experiences would be really helpful!
yeah, spotify killed their android sdk which sucks. i’ve been using web api + retrofit for http calls - works well enough. the auth flow’s annoying but manageable. found a workaround though: spotify’s app remote sdk is still available and lets you control the spotify app if it’s installed. not perfect but better than nothing.
Spotify discontinued their Android SDK in 2022, so it is no longer available in their documentation. I faced a similar challenge in a project and found that using Spotify’s Web API along with their Web Playback SDK is a viable alternative for playback functionality. The Web API is adequate for managing playlists and searching tracks, but note that you will require a Spotify Premium account to utilize the playback features with the Web Playback SDK. If you’re exploring options beyond Spotify, Deezer’s API provides reasonable support for mobile development, and SoundCloud’s API is also user-friendly, albeit both have smaller music libraries compared to Spotify. Additionally, you can use implicit intents to directly open the Spotify app from your Android application; while this isn’t the most elegant solution, it is functional.
Had this exact problem on a client project earlier this year. Spotify’s SDK removal blindsided us mid-development, but we found a combo solution that worked even better than expected. Ditched Retrofit for OkHttp with custom interceptors - way more control over requests and error handling. The game-changer was realizing you can still deep link to trigger Spotify actions without their full SDK. We built custom URL schemes that launch Spotify with specific playlists or tracks, then used broadcast receivers to catch when users come back to our app. Not quite as smooth as native integration, but users can’t tell the difference. Authentication was the worst part - wasted tons of time debugging token refresh logic. Also tried Amazon Music’s API and their docs are way clearer, though obviously fewer users.
Hit this same problem six months back building a music discovery app. The SDK deprecation blindsided me too. I switched to Spotify’s Web API with REST calls - worked way better than expected. Playlist management and search run smooth through the API. For auth, I went with Authorization Code flow + PKCE since it’s more secure on mobile. The pain point is playback control - you can only control the official Spotify app, not get direct playback in yours. Also checked out Apple Music’s MusicKit and YouTube Music API. Both have solid mobile support, though docs are hit or miss. Heads up - most streaming services need premium subscriptions for full API access, so plan your UX around that.
Been down this road myself when building an audio app last year. The SDK discontinuation was frustrating, but I ended up with a hybrid approach that worked pretty well. I used the Web API for data stuff like search and playlist management, then integrated Spotify’s App Remote SDK for playback control when users have the Spotify app installed. The tricky part was handling users without Spotify installed - had to build graceful fallbacks. Authentication took extra work since you’re dealing with OAuth flows, but once it’s set up it’s stable. Performance wise, the REST API calls are fast enough for most use cases. One thing to watch out for - Spotify can be strict about rate limiting and request frequency. If you’re considering alternatives, I had decent luck with Last.fm API for music metadata, though their streaming capabilities are limited compared to major platforms.