Spotify won’t play MP3 files

[garethhills67]

Plan

Premium

Country UK

Device

Mac

My Question or Issue

Spotify won’t play local MP3 files. I’ve removed and reinstalled Spotify. I’ve made all the Local Files changes to ensure Spotify can play from their file location. Error message reads ‘Spotify cannot open files in the “MP3 Audio” format’. 

[Elena]

Hey there @garethhills67!

Thanks for reaching out about this on the Community.

This sounds quite odd since .mp3 files should be a supported audio format for Local files.

You mention that you've reinstalled the app, but could you just confirm for us if you've followed all the steps here?

It's also a good idea to take a look at this page to see all the tips under ''Some of my local files won't import/play'' that could help you solve this.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[anank]

I’m using a MacBook Pro laptop. The laptop was just updated 2 days ago to the latest software update. 

My issues are different. 

1st issue: All the folders that I added yesterday to Spotify containing local files, all which are in mp3 format, none of them show up in the Local Files library or via search. 

2nd issue: one local song specifically - it’s a song that I did not add today - was showing up and playing since I added it last month. But as of just now, this song is greyed out no matter what playlist I add it to despite the song playing from the Local Files library. It’s a very strange occurrence. In the local files library, it plays but in a playlist, it’s greyed out and gives me an error message that says “This content is not available.”

Both these issues persist despite me doing just about everything I can do. I deleted and downloaded and reinstalled Spotify following all the steps for a Clean Install. I did both the quick reinstall and the clean install. I quit then reopened Spotify. I moved the mp3 folder to all different locations. 

I’d like to know how long it takes for local files to show up when they’re added. I thought they would show up immediately once the local files were added. But after several hours, no local files  I added yesterday as I previously stated above when describing the 1st issue. 

Also thought you should know that when I add a source, all the music in the folders I’m adding is seen but they’re greyed out however the folders themselves that I selected still get added. 

[Alex]

Hey @anank,

Thanks for the post.

Local files should show up immediately on the Desktop app. If you're adding thousands of songs, it might take a few minutes though.

If a specific song is not showing - try changing it's name and metadata. Songs with special characters or foreign alphabet letters often cause issues.

Regarding the local MP3s, did this start happening after the UI update or it was always like this.

Furthermore could you let us know the model, OS version of your computer, as well as the version of your Spotify app.

[1278705443]

Hey Alex!

My file is showing up and playing on my Macbook but it's not available on my iPhone, it tells me to turn on offline sync on a playlist but it still shows up gray. How do I fix this?

[Yordan]

Hey @1278705443!

In order for the file to be played on your iPhone, you'll have to upload it there as well - you can find the appropriate steps in this article.

Cheers!

[William241]

Remove the embedded image from the MP3.
Load your MP3s that are having issues into MP3TAG.
Double-click the file from the list to view the tags on the left pane.
Right click the Cover Art image at the bottom of the tag information.
Select "Remove Cover"

Regards,

Will