Used to be able to create a playlist with custom material and use on another device but now cannot

[MJSR76]

Hi,

So I used to (like 2018) be able to upload original content to my laptop, add it to a playlist and it would then play on my tablet - useful for live entertainment where the artist has their own tracks that need playing and you can use one device to play everything.

However, since upgrading early 2019 I have found that this option just creates greyed out, unplayable tracks on any device other than where the local file is. I originally read that both software versions needed to be the same (or newest) and everything needs to be on the same WiFi, etc which I have done, yet I still have the issue.

Does anyone have any idea on why this has happened and if there is a fix possible? It was such a useful feature that essentially sold Spotify to me as a work tool and without it makes the program just another app.

TIA

[Xenia]

Hey there @MJSR76,

Thanks for reaching out about this in the Community! We're happy to shed some light on the situation.

We'd first off recommend to check out this support article for full information on Local Files. There's also a helpful Spotify Answer with some good troubleshooting steps if you're having difficulties syncing your local files to your phone.

If that doesn't do the trick, it'd be great if you could also try the recommended steps here and here and make sure you have Hide Unplayable Songs toggled off in your Settings.

Another thing you should check is whether the files you're trying to import are DRM (Digital Rights Management) protected. In case they're iTunes, you can check for DRM protected tracks by following these steps.

Hope you'll find this useful. Let us know how it goes.