Spotify Fades In & Out? Here’s Why (Solved & Explained)

Spotify is one of the leading music streaming platforms currently available. Not only can listeners stream music from a variety of genres and artists, but they can even stream thousands of podcasts, too.

If you’ve recently found that your Spotify songs keep fading in and out, and you want to know why then look no further.

In this article, we will cover everything to do with why your songs are fading out and what you can do to customize this feature.

Here’s Everything You Need to Know about Spotify & Crossfading

Crossfading is a great adjustable feature available to both free and premium Spotify members. Users can lower the volume levels at the end of a song while gradually increasing the volume of the next song, removing any silence. This allows you to create a listening experience similar to a DJ set.

Why does Spotify Fade Out All of a Sudden?

When your Spotify songs begin fading in and out all of a sudden, it can be rather strange to the ear – especially when you are not used to it.

All of us listen to songs and playlists in our own particular way, so when the track’s transition changes, but you don’t know why, it may lead you to believe something is wrong with the Spotify app.

Don’t worry, though, there’s a simple explanation.

The reason your songs on Spotify have begun fading in and out is that the crossfade function has been activated.

You may have even thought that Spotify, coincidentally, stops when you open other apps – when in fact, it is just the crossfade function at work.

Crossfading is a brilliant, fully customizable playback feature that has been available for both free and premium Spotify members for many years.

If it’s not for you, then don’t fret. Crossfading is completely optional, and it was only designed to enhance the listener’s experience, not to hinder it.

If you are finding that you dislike the merging of your songs, then all you have to do is disable the crossfade feature in your playback settings.

How do you Turn Crossfading On & Off on Spotify?

If you want to turn the crossfading function on or off on your Spotify app, then you’ll be pleased to know it’s an incredibly straightforward procedure. Just take a look at the instructions below to adjust this feature on your desktop, iOS, or Android device.

How to use Crossfade on your Spotify iOS or Android App

1. Begin by opening the Spotify app on your Android/iOS device.
2. Tap on the ‘home’ button.
3. Tap on the small gear icon in the top right of your screen to open ‘Settings’
4. Next, scroll down and tap on ‘Playback’
5. From here, you will see all of Spotify’s available playback features.
6. Finally, drag the slider under the title ‘Crossfade’ up to down to adjust how many seconds the songs overlap for.
7. If you set the slider to ‘0s’ then this disables the crossfade feature.

How to use Crossfade on your Spotify Desktop App

1. Begin by launching the Spotify desktop app on your Mac or PC.
2. Click on the downward arrow at the top.
3. Navigate to ‘Settings’
4. Scroll down and click on ‘Playback’
5. Under this section, you will be able to toggle ‘Crossfade’ on or off.

You will also be able to use the slider to adjust how much time you want your songs to overlap by.

What Happened if Spotify just Faded Out & Stopped Playing?

Some Spotify members have reported a ‘fade-and-pause’ issue that keeps occurring with their Spotify app.

If you find your songs are gradually fading into silence and no song follows it, then there may be a simple reason.

This issue happens when your device, such as your mobile phone, has just received some sort of notification. Push notifications can pause your songs when they are received.

It’s worth double-checking whether this ‘fade-and-pause’ scenario occurs in unison with a notification from another app such as WhatsApp.

If it doesn’t, and you can’t find the reason for the pausing, then it may be because there is a problem with the Spotify app itself.

The best solution in this scenario is to force close the app and restart it.

To do this, follow the easy steps below:

Force Quit Spotify on Android

1. Access the multitasking interface by either swiping upwards or tapping the button at the bottom of your screen.
2. All running apps will be visible.
3. Simply swipe up on Spotify to drag the window off the screen.
4. Now try reopening Spotify, and hopefully, you will no longer have the ‘fade-and-pause’ problem.

Force Quit Spotify on iOS

1. Double-tap the home button on your iOS device.
2. You will see a screen indicating all apps that are currently running.
3. Swipe upwards on Spotify to force close the app.
4. All you have to do next is reopen the app and see if the problem persists.

Force Quit Spotify on Windows

1. Hit ‘control+alt+delete’ simultaneously on your keyboard.
2. Select ‘Task Manager’
3. Navigate to the ‘Processes’ tab seen on the task manager window.
4. Highlight ‘Spotify’ and select ‘End Task’.

Following the above steps is the only real way to make sure you’ve ended all of Spotify’s background processes. Next, all you have to do is relaunch the Spotify app.

Force Quit Spotify on Mac Desktop

1. On your keyboard, hold and press ‘option+command+escape’ simultaneously.
2. A ‘Force Quit Applications’ window will appear.
3. Alternatively, select the Apple icon at the top of your screen and select ‘Force Quit’
4. To close the Spotify app, select ‘Spotify’ and then choose ‘Force Quit’

Once you have done this, try reopening Spotify, and hopefully, your problem will no longer persist.

It’s also worth disabling any battery optimization features that may be running on your device, as this can also interfere with your Spotify listening experience.

What are your Options for Fading Songs In & Out on Spotify?

Spotify has a wide range of adjustable playback features available for its members. To access all of these features simply navigate to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Playback’.

With crossfade, you have the ability to adjust the overlap time with 12 different increments, from 0 seconds to 12 seconds.

The average length of time for a crossfade between songs is usually around the 5-second mark, so this is a good place to start.

Sometimes, however, either a longer or shorter crossfade between songs might actually sound better.

The great news is that you can play around with the settings to find the best option for your playlists.

Crossfading can also sometimes be confused with a feature called ‘gapless playback’, though they are completely different.

This will also be available under the crossfade title in your playback settings and will completely remove any silence between tracks, so each song flows seamlessly into the next.

Gapless playback is great for albums designed with gapless playback in mind, such as live albums, classical music, and conceptual albums.

If you’re an Apple Music user, check out our article about gapless playback on Apple Music!

How Exactly does Crossfading Work on Spotify?

Perhaps you are wondering how exactly the crossfading function works on Spotify. Spotify states on its support page that its crossfade function:

“Overlaps 2 tracks by fading out of the first while fading in the next.”

[Source: Spotify.com]

To put it simply, when you enable crossfade, you are removing any silence between songs by overlapping the current song with the next, similar to what a DJ will do on a set.

This creates the ambiance of the music never ending and is great for parties.

The fade is created by the Spotify app gradually decreasing the volume of the current song whilst simultaneously increasing the volume of the following song.

If you want to give it a try, simply head to your settings and enable the crossfade function from within your playback settings.

Please also read our easy answer guide to Spotify and bad sound quality!

Sources

Tracks Transitions

What is Gapless Playback?

How to Force Close an app to close on your Mac