Discord has become one of the most popular platforms for communicating with friends while gaming. With its excellent voice chat capabilities, Discord makes it easy to hang out with your gaming buddies. However, Discord can also be used as a place to enjoy music together. Here’s how to play music in Discord.
Table of Contents
Use a Music Bot
The easiest way to play music in Discord is by using a specialized Discord music bot. These bots connect to various music services and allow you to play songs right in your Discord server.
To add a music bot:
- Go to the bot’s website, such as FredBoat or Hydra
- Click on the “Invite” button
- Select the Discord server you want the bot to join
- Authorize the bot to access your server
Once the bot joins your server, you can use commands to make it play music from YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud and more. For example, the command !play In The End will make it search and play the song “In The End” by Linkin Park.
Benefits of using a music bot:
- Access to vast music libraries
- Ability to take song requests
- Playlist creation and management
- No need to deal with streaming your own music
Connect Spotify
If your preferred music platform is Spotify, you can connect it directly to Discord to listen together with friends.
To connect Spotify:
- Open Discord and go to User Settings
- Select “Connections”
- Click on the Spotify icon
- Log into your Spotify account
After connecting Spotify, you can listen along to your playlists and favorites right in your Discord voice channels.
Pros of using Spotify:
- Seamless integration with Discord
- Familiar Spotify interface
- Syncs listening activity with friends
- Spotify Premium features unlocked
Stream Computer Audio
You can also stream music directly from apps and services running on your computer. This takes a bit more setup but allows you to play music from almost any source.
To stream computer audio:
- Right-click the speaker icon on Windows and go to Sounds
- Under Recording, right-click Stereo Mix and Enable
- Set it as your Default Device
- Open Discord, join a voice channel and start playing music
Now any sounds played on your computer, whether from iTunes, YouTube or other sources, will be streamed right into Discord.
Why stream computer audio?
- Play music from any app or website
- DJ music from your local files
- Mix audio from multiple sources
- More flexibility than bots or Spotify
Use a Virtual Microphone
A more advanced technique is to create a virtual microphone that will output your computer’s audio. This virtual mic can then be used in Discord voice chats to “play” music.
To setup a virtual mic:
- Download and install VB-Audio Virtual Cable
- Set it as your Default Playback Device in Windows Sound settings
- Open Discord, enable the virtual cable as your Input Device
- Play music and it will be “played” through your mic
Benefits of virtual mics:
- Full control over audio quality
- Consistent performance
- Works for any desktop apps and sources
- Advanced audio configuration options
Conclusion
Playing music in Discord is easy and fun. With bots, Spotify integration, computer audio streaming and virtual mics, you have a few good options to liven up your gaming chats. Experiment with these methods and see which one best fits your needs. Just remember to respect copyrights and enjoy your tunes responsibly. With the right music bot or audio setup, your Discord server will become the ultimate hangout for gaming and music.
