Display Spotify Song Natively in OBS Studio

This guide explains how to display your currently playing Spotify song natively in OBS Studio without installing complex third-party software. By utilizing OBS Studio’s built-in Window Capture source and cropping features, you can easily add a clean, real-time music overlay directly to your stream layout.

Step 1: Prepare Spotify

  1. Open the Spotify desktop application on your computer.
  2. Play any song so the track information is visible in the bottom-left corner of the Spotify window.

Step 2: Add a Window Capture Source in OBS

  1. Open OBS Studio.
  2. In the Sources dock, click the + (plus) icon and select Window Capture.
  3. Name the source (e.g., “Spotify Song Info”) and click OK.
  4. In the properties window, set the Window dropdown to [Spotify.exe]: Spotify Free or [Spotify.exe]: Spotify Premium.
  5. Set the Capture Method to Windows 10 (1903 and up) to ensure the window captures smoothly. Click OK.

Step 3: Crop the Source to Show Only the Song Title

  1. Select the Spotify source in your OBS canvas.
  2. Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard (Option key on Mac).
  3. Click and drag the red bounding box handles inward.
  4. Crop the source so that only the bottom-left corner of Spotify—which contains the album art, song title, and artist name—is visible.
  5. Release the Alt key to resize and position the cropped window anywhere on your stream overlay.

Step 4: Make the Background Transparent (Optional)

If you want to remove the solid background of the Spotify player: 1. Right-click the Spotify source in OBS and select Filters. 2. Click the + icon under Effect Filters and select Color Key or Luma Key. 3. Adjust the similarity and smoothness sliders until the dark background becomes transparent, leaving only the text and album art visible. 4. Click Close.