How to add Spotify to Streamlabs

Add Spotify to Streamlabs is a bit more complicated than simply adding any track music to your Streamlabs scenes.

The latter is very good for example to loop the same music in the background.

But if you want to have more control and play different songs along your stream, then you will need to connect Spotify to Streamlabs.

The good news is that this tutorial will not only work for Spotify, but for any application.

So, in the future, you will be able to use royalty-free music with any audio player, and send that content directly to Streamlabs.

How to Play Spotify Music on Streamlabs, step by step guide

For this tutorial to work, you’ll need an additional third-party app, but don’t worry, it’s completely free for our purposes.

Step #1 – Download the free VB-Audio-Cable

VB-Audio Cable is an app that simulates a virtual cable that transmits the audio/music from one app to another.

It’s available for Windows and for macOS, so now download it, and install it using admin permission (right-click over the icon > Run as Administrator)

You’ll need to do this on the VBCable_Setup.exe.

• Important: once the installation is finished, you’ll need to restart your computer!

Step #2 – Set Spotify Audio Output as the virtual cable

Now, you’ll have to tell Spotify that you want to send its audio not to your speakers/headphones, but to that “virtual cable”.

However, you can’t do that through Spotify itself, as it doesn’t allow you to do so.

So, as Spotify doesn’t allow you to pick this virtual cable as output, you’ll have to do so via Windows:

1. Right-Click on the speaker icon on the taskbar.
2. Open Sound Settings.
3. Scroll down until you see “Advanced Sound options > App volume and device preferences”.
4. Look for Spotify, and in the first dropdown menu (output) pick the virtual cable: Cable Input.
   1. Important: if you don’t see Spotify here, just open the app and play a song.

If you are on Windows 11:

1. Right-click on the Speaker icon.
2. Click Open Volume Mixer.
3. From there, you’ll see your currently opened apps.
4. Set your desired default input/output device for each of those apps.

Step #3 – Add the Virtual cable as a source on Streamlabs

You’re almost there.

All you have to do now is just go to Streamlabs Desktop, and add a new source.

This has to be an Audio Output Capture.

After setting a name (I suggest you use “Spotify”) all you need to do is tell Streamlabs which device represents that source.

Just pick the virtual cable, which actually is Spotify, because you’ve connected to it on the Windows settings!

Don’t forget that unless you activate the Audio Monitoring, you won’t be able to hear the Spotify songs on your default devices (speakers, headphones), but your audience will.

But as you’ll see, Streamlabs will be perfectly able to detect Spotify!

How to use a streaming music service other than Spotify in Streamlabs

You already know how to easily play music on Streamlabs, for instance, for playing the same background song in the loop.

But this method is better to be in control of your playlist.

If you want to use another app instead Spotify (like your music app, or VLC for playing royalty-free music) just follow the same steps, but in step #2, choose that app instead of Spotify, and you’ll be ready to go!