Image credit: Paul Pilarte

Smooth the transitions between your songs with a crossfade between tracks on your chosen music streaming service.

Crossfades can build a seamless playback experience that keeps the music rolling with no awkward gaps between songs. It’s perfect for parties and is a technique mastered by DJs for years.

With streaming services, there’s no human to make the process smooth but the feature is available as an automatic function. With that in mind, the transitions won’t necessarily feel as natural as with a DJ’s prowess – so be mindful of when you use it. If you’re listening to an artist’s entire album for example, the songs should have been produced to transition intentionally.

If you’re listening to a playlist or mix of music then crossfade can enhance the experience, creating smooth connections between different songs. It overlaps the end of the last song with the beginning of the next song. Perfect for parties!

Crossfade is only available on a number of streaming services. We’ve collected them here with a guide on how to enable it.

How to enable crossfade on Spotify

Mobile and tablet

  1. Swipe left or tap your profile picture
  2. Tap settings and privacy 
  3. Scroll down to Playback
  4. Under Crossfade, drag the slider to select the crossfade length

Desktop

  1. Click your profile picture at the top, and select Settings
  2. Scroll down to Playback
  3. Switch Crossfade songs on 
  4. Move the slider to select the crossfade length

How to use Automix on Spotify

Automix matches the beats of songs for a truly seamless transition on certain playlists. Enable this feature separately to gain use of it.

Mobile and tablet

  1. Swipe left or tap your profile picture
  2. Tap settings and privacy
  3. Scroll down to Playback
  4. Switch Automix on or off

Desktop

  1. Click your profile picture at the top, and select Settings
  2. Scroll down to the Playback section
  3. Switch Automix on or off

How to enable crossfade on Apple Music

iPhone and iPad

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Apple Music.
  3. Turn on Crossfade. If you don’t see Crossfade, update your iPhone or iPad to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.

Android

  1. Open the Apple Music app
  2. Tap on the three dots in the top-right
  3. Select Settings
  4. Scroll down to Audio
  5. Tap on Crossfade and choose Automatic or customise the setting with Manual

Desktop

  1. Open the Apple Music app
  2. From the menubar choose Music then Settings
  3. Click the Playback tab
  4. Select Crossfade Songs
  5. Set the timer to your preference

How to enable crossfade on Deezer

At the moment, the crossfade feature is only available on Deezer’s iOS app. They say they are working to bring it to more devices.

iOS

  1. Go to Settings 
  2. Select Audio 
  3. Scroll down to the bottom and then adjust the slider as necessary

Get your music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and beyond. Unlimited free uploads are available when you sign up at www.routenote.com.