Music files on iOS: Do Spotify and Music App create separate copies?

[labourday]

Hello! 

I recently subscribed to Spotify premium and am liking it so far! However, I still have need to use the ordinary 'Music App' on my iPhone. I have been able to import my iTunes playlists into Spotify, and have the songs as local files in the app. 

My question is how does the iPhone handle Spotifys local files? I have the same playlists available to me in the 'Music' app, and obviously, the songs are stored on my iPhone already. Does Spotify make a new copy for it's own purposes, thus taking up more space, or does it use the files already there? 

If it is making a new copy, is there a way to get it to use what's already on the phone? 

Thanks! 

[MattSuda · Accepted solution]

Spotify makes a new copy for its own purposes, thus taking up more space.

Currently Spotify does not use the files that are already inside of the Music app due to Apple's API restrictions.