I want all the music of spotify inside the MusicBee app. Is that possible?

[[email protected]]

I'm new to music bee and in love with the UX.
I'm tired of downloading my own music.

I have tried Spotify and the UX is so basic compare to Musicbee that it is just frustrating.
Apple-Music is a bit better because they let the user edit the genres, but still they are not close to Musi Bee's intuitive UX.

I see that there was a way to integrate MusicBee with something called Groove music by Microsoft but I also see that it was canceled.

So my question is how can I enjoy both worlds? endless music without the need to download it inside the MusicBee interface?

Thanks
Aviv

[frankz]

No that is not possible.

[hiccup]

I noticed that Spotify does have an API available:
https://developer.spotify.com/documentation/web-api/
But I have no idea if that in theory would make some sort of integration with MusicBee possible.

[ma_t14]

Same for Deezer, which actually might be a more promising option given that a 3rd party client for it already exists. It's definitely possible but not sure about the legal/technical aspects of it.

https://developers.deezer.com/api

Steven what do you think?

[hiccup]

Same for Deezer, which actually might be a more promising option given that a 3rd party client for it already exists.

Maybe so, but Spotify is far more popular and at this moment has about 14 times more users than Deezer.
(140 mil. vs. 10 mil.)
So if such an integration would be possible, an integration with Spotify would almost certainly be the most beneficial to MusicBee users too.

[ma_t14]

Definitely, no disagreements there.

I'm just going by the fact that I have seen nothing of the sort for Spotify, so it's very likely that the API doesn't allow it.

[hiccup]

I'm just going by the fact that I have seen nothing of the sort for Spotify, so it's very likely that the API doesn't allow it.

I have no good understanding of API's in general, and I certainly don't know the differences between the API's that Deezer and Spotify make available.
But the Spotify API page to me looks like they are making an effort to provide a variety of features.
But it could well be that none of them is useful for what the OP is asking and hoping for.

edit:
What could also be a factor in all this:
While people usually will stream their music from these providers, with Spotify you can download your music so it will then reside on your harddisk.
The files are encrypted so that you can not copy or play them with 3rd party software or equipment, but you can play them with Spotify's desktop application without the need of an internet connection.
Maybe that is something that the API would allow for a player such as MusicBee too.

I have no idea.
Probably not.

[[email protected]]

So all MusicBee users that want to add a new album to their library have to download it?
I would assume that this reduces the number of people that use MusicBee in the last years.

It is so frustrating to see such a configurable masterpiece like Musicee but having to use Spotify/apple simple and basic UI.
I don't know where does the subscription money goes to, but for sure not for adding new features for the app.

[The Incredible Boom Boom]

Neither the Deezer nor Spotify APIs allow third-party players to have official* access to their content and the music publishers they have licensing deals with would never allow that to happen.
This is not something Steven, the creator and owner of MusicBee, has any control of whatsoever.

Your subscription cost isn't for a ground-up customizable music management/player software, it's to pay licensing fees, server costs and for developers to fine-tune algorithms that push you towards artists you've never heard of before. This is distinct from the goal of MusicBee.

[phred]

So all MusicBee users that want to add a new album to their library have to download it?
I would assume that this reduces the number of people that use MusicBee in the last years.

There are close to 40,000 users registered on the forum. And granted not every one of them is actively posting, the assumption is that at least twice that number are using MB and never used the forum. Steven is the only one who can say how many downloads of MB there have been since creation more than ten years ago. And whether the number of downloads is going up or down.

In addition, MB is a one-person project that is a hobby for the developer. I don't speak for Steven, but I'm not certain he would want hundreds of thousands of users as he has a real life to live and can only donate some of his spare time to MB. More users means more questions from new users and more requests for features he may or may not want to implement. But it all takes time, and MB is a hobby.

[hiccup]

Neither the Deezer nor Spotify APIs allow third-party players to have official* access to their content and the music publishers they have licensing deals with would never allow that to happen.

Do you have insights on what these API's make possible to do?

[The Incredible Boom Boom]

Do you have insights on what these API's make possible to do?

At a brief glance, it's to allow developers to add playback ability and access certain bits of user data for web and mobile apps and it does actually seem fairly prolific.

You could use it to create a personalized artist discovery app, for example, by tying into how Spotify determines artist relationships. Most people's use case would probably be accessing playlists for their website or whatever. It does look like it's possible to spit out a functional music player web app, as well. Furthermore, someone with a lot of time to waste could definitely devote that time to getting Spotify playback on MusicBee, but I can guarantee it would be a constant headache to maintain as a public release.

It seems that up until 2015, Spotify did sporadically support a .NET library, but heavy emphasis on sporadically and again, like the web APIs, seems more trouble than it would be worth to try and jury rig MusicBee to work with. There is a current library that wraps around the old library using Python, which is convenient for a lot of newer application purposes, but would make it even more of a " task" to incorporate with MusicBee.

[SkyZippr]

So all MusicBee users that want to add a new album to their library have to download it?

If you mean 'buy it' then yes that's what I do.
Basically I'm not fond of the idea that my collection of music could be taken away when the streaming service decides to do so, or when the service is simply shut down. Sure it costs more than the monthly subscription fee just to buy a single album, but for me that extra money is worth it.

[[email protected]]

Thanks, I appreciate all your answers.

[SonicRings]

So all MusicBee users that want to add a new album to their library have to download it?

If you mean 'buy it' then yes that's what I do.
Basically I'm not fond of the idea that my collection of music could be taken away when the streaming service decides to do so, or when the service is simply shut down. Sure it costs more than the monthly subscription fee just to buy a single album, but for me that extra money is worth it.

Completely agree. Not to mention that downloading and maintaining your own library allows you to get higher quality files in the first place. Spotify maxes out at 320kbps MP3 quality for PREMIUM users. Yikes. As I always say, once you go FLAC you never go back.