Spinmusic plays music files that you already own. It does not provide, stream, or download music for you. This page explains how to build your music collection from legal sources and how to find existing files on your computer.

Where to Buy Music Files

Several online stores sell DRM-free music files that you can download and use with any player, including Spinmusic:

Finding Existing Music on Your Computer

If you've been using another music player, you likely already have music files on your computer. Here's where to find them.

Apple Music / iTunes (macOS)

1. Open Finder
2. Go to your home folder: ~/Music/Music/Media/Music
3. Or in Apple Music: Settings → Files → Music Media Folder Location shows the path
4. The folder is organized by Artist → Album

Older iTunes libraries may be at ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music.

iTunes (Windows)

1. The default location is C:\Users\[YourName]\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music
2. Or in iTunes: Edit → Preferences → Advanced shows the "iTunes Media folder location"
3. Files are organized by Artist → Album

Windows Media Player

1. Default location: C:\Users\[YourName]\Music
2. In Windows Media Player: Organize → Options → Rip Music shows the rip location

VLC Media Player

VLC doesn't manage a library folder. Your music files are wherever you saved them — check your Downloads folder and Music folder.

Spotify (downloaded files)

Spotify downloads are encrypted and cannot be used outside the Spotify app. They are not standard music files. If you want to own your music independently, you'll need to purchase it from one of the stores listed above.

YouTube Music (downloaded files)

Like Spotify, YouTube Music downloads are encrypted and tied to the app. They cannot be used with Spinmusic or any other independent player.

Ripping CDs

If you own physical CDs, you can convert them to digital files (this is legal for personal use in most countries):

• macOS: Apple Music (or iTunes) can import CDs. Go to Settings → Files → Import Settings and choose MP3 or AAC encoder.
• Windows: Windows Media Player can rip CDs via Organize → Options → Rip Music. Choose MP3 format.
• Exact Audio Copy (Windows): Free tool for high-quality CD ripping to FLAC or MP3.
• cdparanoia (Linux): Command-line CD ripper with error correction.

Organizing Your Files

Spinmusic works best when your music is organized in folders. A common structure is:

Music/
  Artist Name/
    Album Name/
      01 Track Title.mp3
      02 Track Title.mp3
      cover.jpg
  Another Artist/
    Album Name/
      01 Song.m4a
      ...

However, Spinmusic reads metadata from the files themselves (title, artist, album, track number), so the folder structure is flexible. Even a flat folder with all your songs works — they'll be grouped by their metadata.

Cloud Storage & Syncing

You can keep your music in a synced folder to access it from multiple devices:

• Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive — sync your music folder across computers
• NAS (Network Attached Storage) — store your collection on a home server
• Syncthing — free, decentralized file sync between devices

Any edits you make in Spinmusic (metadata, lyrics, cover art) are written directly to the files, so they sync automatically to all your devices.

Supported Formats

Not all audio formats are created equal. This page explains the differences between common formats, which ones Spinmusic supports, and which one to choose for your music collection.

Lossy vs. Lossless

Audio formats fall into two categories:

• Lossy formats (MP3, AAC, OGG) compress audio by discarding data that is less audible to the human ear. This results in much smaller files, but the removed data cannot be recovered.
• Lossless formats (FLAC, WAV) preserve the full audio data. The sound is identical to the original recording, but files are significantly larger.

Supported Formats

What About Bitrate?

For lossy formats, the bitrate (measured in kbps) determines the quality. Higher bitrate means better sound but larger files:

Recommendations

Converting Between Formats

You can convert audio files using free tools:

• fre:ac — free, open-source audio converter for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Supports all common formats.
• Audacity — free audio editor that can also convert between formats.
• FFmpeg — powerful command-line tool. Converts virtually any format.

The File System Access API is a modern browser feature that allows web applications to read and write files on your device — with your permission. Spinmusic uses this API to open your music folder directly in the browser, so your files never leave your computer.

When you click "Open Local Folder", the browser asks you to select a folder. Once you grant access, Spinmusic can read your music files, extract metadata, and play them — all locally in your browser. No upload, no server, no cloud.

Browser Support

The File System Access API is not supported in all browsers. Here is the current state of support:

Browser		Support	Notes
Google Chrome	✔	Supported	Full support since version 86 (October 2020)
Microsoft Edge	✔	Supported	Full support since version 86
Opera	✔	Supported	Full support since version 72
Brave		Requires flag	Disabled by default. See instructions below.
Firefox	✘	Not supported	Firefox has chosen not to implement this API. Use Chrome or Edge instead.
Safari	✘	Not supported	Safari does not support the File System Access API. Use Chrome or Edge instead.

Enabling in Brave

Brave is based on Chromium and has the capability, but disables the File System Access API by default for privacy reasons. To enable it:

1. Open a new tab and go to brave://flags/#file-system-access-api
2. Find the "File System Access API" flag
3. Change the dropdown from "Default" to "Enabled"
4. Click "Relaunch" at the bottom of the page to restart Brave

Known Limitations

Symbolic Links (Linux / macOS)

On Linux and macOS, the File System Access API may not be able to follow symbolic links (symlinks). If your music folder is a symlink, or contains symlinks to other directories, the browser may fail to read some or all files.

Workarounds:

• Select the actual target folder instead of the symlink
• Replace symlinks with real copies or use bind mounts
• Use the server folder option (admin only) if available

Permission Persistence

The browser remembers your folder selection across page reloads within the same session. However, when you close and reopen the browser, you may need to re-grant permission. Spinmusic will prompt you automatically when this happens.

Further Reading

• Chrome Developers: The File System Access API — in-depth guide from Google
• MDN Web Docs: File System API — technical reference
• Can I Use: File System Access API — up-to-date browser support table

Spinmusic is built around a simple principle: your music stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded, streamed to a server, or stored in the cloud. Every part of the application is designed to work with files that live on your own drive.

Your Files Never Leave Your Device

When you open a music folder in Spinmusic, the browser reads the files directly from your hard drive using the File System Access API. The audio is decoded and played locally in your browser. At no point are your music files sent to any server.

This applies to everything Spinmusic does with your files:

• Playback — audio is decoded and played in the browser, not streamed from a server
• Cover art — extracted from your files and displayed locally
• Metadata — read from and written back to your files, never stored elsewhere
• Lyrics — saved as .lrc files alongside your music

No Database, No Cloud

Spinmusic does not maintain a database of your music. Every piece of information — song titles, artist names, album art, lyrics, timings — is stored in or alongside your music files. If you delete the Spinmusic application or clear your browser data, your music and all its metadata remain untouched on your drive.

Spinmusic does not require an account or login. There is no registration, no personal data collected, and no server-side storage of your preferences. Your collection is defined entirely by the folder you select, and your settings are stored locally in your browser.

Summary

Playing your own music

If you buy a song from a legitimate source like iTunes, Bandcamp, or any other music store, you own a personal copy of that file. You are free to play it in any player you choose, whether that's iTunes, VLC, or Spinmusic. Moving an MP3 file into a folder on your computer and playing it in your browser is no different from playing it in any other music player.

Adding lyrics

Song lyrics are typically copyrighted by their authors. However, writing down or saving lyrics for your own personal use is covered by private use exceptions in copyright law (known as "fair use" in the US or "Privatkopie" in Germany and other European countries). This is the same principle that allows you to write down lyrics in a notebook or copy a CD you purchased to your phone.

In Spinmusic, lyrics are saved as .lrc files directly in your local music folder. They never leave your computer and are only accessible to you. This is purely personal use.

When does it become illegal?

Copyright issues arise when you share or distribute copyrighted material with others. Uploading songs to file-sharing platforms, sending MP3 files to friends, or publishing lyrics on a website are all forms of distribution that typically require permission from the rights holder.

Spinmusic has no sharing functionality. Your music and lyrics stay on your local device at all times. Nothing is uploaded to any server.

Effective date: March 2026

By using Spinmusic, you agree to the following terms.

1. What Spinmusic Is

Spinmusic is a browser-based music player and metadata editor. It allows you to play, organize, and edit music files that you provide. Spinmusic operates as a client-side application — your music files are read, played, and modified directly in your browser.

2. No Upload of Music Content

Spinmusic does not upload your music files, cover art, lyrics, or any other media content to any server. All processing happens locally in your browser:

• Audio playback is handled entirely by your browser
• Metadata edits (title, artist, album, etc.) are written directly to your files
• Lyrics are saved as .lrc files alongside your music
• Cover art is embedded in your audio files or stored in your folders

Spinmusic does not require an account. No personal data is collected, and all preferences are stored locally in your browser.

3. Your Content, Your Responsibility

You are solely responsible for the music files, lyrics, and other content you use with Spinmusic. You must have the legal right to possess and use the files you open with the application. Spinmusic does not verify, monitor, or control the content you access through it.

This application does not provide lyrics. All text content is provided by the user.

4. External Links

Spinmusic may contain links that open third-party websites. The developer is not responsible for the content, availability, or privacy practices of these external sites.

5. No Warranty

Spinmusic is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. While we strive to keep the application functional and your data safe, we cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation. Since all edits are made directly to your files, we recommend keeping backups of your music collection.

6. Limitation of Liability

Spinmusic is not liable for any loss or damage to your files, data, or equipment arising from the use of this application. This includes but is not limited to corrupted files, lost metadata, or unintended modifications.

7. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of Spinmusic after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Significant changes will be communicated via the application.

8. Contact

For questions about these terms, contact us at contact@spinmusic.de.

Every music file carries metadata — information like the song title, artist name, album, and track number. Spinmusic reads this metadata to organize your library, and lets you edit it directly. Changes are written back into the file itself, so they're visible in any music player.

Editable Fields

Spinmusic lets you edit five metadata fields:

How to Edit Metadata

1. Play a song so the cover display panel appears
2. Click the edit button (pencil icon) in the cover controls
3. The metadata form opens with the current values
4. Change any fields you want
5. Click "Save" to write the changes

Playback is briefly paused during the save to release the file for writing, then resumes automatically.

What Happens When You Save

When you save metadata changes, Spinmusic writes the new values directly into the audio file's metadata tags:

• MP3 files — metadata is stored in ID3v2 text frames (TIT2 for title, TPE1 for artist, TALB for album, TRCK for track, TPOS for disc)
• M4A/MP4 files — metadata is stored in iTunes-style atoms (©nam for title, ©ART for artist, ©alb for album, trkn for track, disk for disc)

Album-Wide Changes

When you change the artist or album name (but not the title or track number), Spinmusic offers to apply the same change to all other songs in the album.

This is useful for common tasks like:

• Fixing a misspelled artist name across an entire album
• Renaming an album consistently for all tracks
• Correcting disc numbers for a box set

When prompted, choose "Yes" to update all tracks in the album, or "No" to only change the current song.

Where Metadata is Stored

Metadata lives inside your audio files, not in a separate database. This is important because:

• Changes travel with the file — copy it anywhere and the metadata follows
• Any other music player will see your edits
• No sync or export needed — the file is the single source of truth
• If you use a synced folder (Dropbox, Google Drive, NAS), edits are available everywhere immediately

Tips

• Be consistent with artist names. Spinmusic groups songs by artist — "The Beatles" and "Beatles, The" will appear as two separate artists. Pick one format and stick with it.
• Use the track number field. Setting track numbers ensures songs are displayed in the correct order within an album, not just alphabetically.
• Track format. You can enter just the number (e.g. 3) or include the total (e.g. 3/12). Both formats are supported.

Spinmusic stores lyrics alongside your music files using the widely supported LRC format — a plain text standard used by music players around the world. Your lyrics live in your files, not in a database or cloud service.

The LRC Format

LRC (short for "LyRiCs") is a simple text format for storing song lyrics. LRC files have the .lrc extension and are saved with the same filename as the audio file they belong to. For example:

• Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.mp3 → Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.lrc
• Coldplay - Yellow.m4a → Coldplay - Yellow.lrc

Spinmusic automatically detects and loads an LRC file when you play the matching song. No configuration needed — just place them in the same folder.

Plain vs. Synced Lyrics

LRC files can contain lyrics in two forms:

Plain Lyrics (unsynced)

Just the text of the song, line by line. No timing information. Spinmusic displays all lines at once, and you can scroll through them while the song plays.

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
With you between my arms
Barefoot on the grass
Listening to our favourite song

Synced Lyrics (timed)

Each line is prefixed with a timestamp in the format [mm:ss.xx], indicating when that line should be highlighted during playback. This creates a karaoke-like experience where Spinmusic scrolls through the lyrics in sync with the music.

[00:18.50]Baby, I'm dancing in the dark
[00:22.10]With you between my arms
[00:25.80]Barefoot on the grass
[00:29.30]Listening to our favourite song

The Timing Editor

Spinmusic includes a built-in timing editor that lets you synchronize lyrics to your music. You can access it from the lyrics view when a song is playing.

Adding Timing to Unsynced Lyrics

If your lyrics don't have timestamps yet, click "Add timing" in the lyrics footer. This opens the timing editor where you can set the timing for each line:

1. The editor starts playback automatically
2. Press A as each lyric line begins in the song
3. Each press assigns the current playback position to the next line
4. Click "Save + Close" when done

The timings are written back into the LRC file immediately.

Editing Existing Timings

If lyrics already have timestamps but they're slightly off, click "Edit timing" in the lyrics footer. The timing editor shows a visual timeline with markers for each line. You can:

• Re-time all lines by pressing A during playback
• Use Space to pause and resume playback
• Zoom in and out on the timeline for precision
• Click "Reset" to undo all changes and start over

Translations

Spinmusic can translate your lyrics into other languages using AI. Translations are saved as separate LRC files with a language suffix:

• Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.lrc — original lyrics
• Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.de.lrc — German translation
• Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.en.lrc — English translation
• Danny Ocean - Me Rehuso.ja.lrc — Japanese translation

To create a translation, click the language button (e.g. "German", "English") in the lyrics footer. The translation is generated and saved automatically. You can switch between the original and any available translation while playing.

Translation languages are detected automatically based on the lyrics content.

Managing Lyrics

Adding Lyrics

If a song has no lyrics yet, Spinmusic shows an option to add them. You can paste lyrics from any source — Spinmusic will save them as an LRC file next to your audio file.

Deleting Lyrics

To remove lyrics, click "Delete lyrics" in the lyrics footer. This deletes the LRC file from disk. Translations are separate files and must be deleted individually using the "Remove [Language]" buttons.

Why No Automatic Lyrics Download?

You might wonder why Spinmusic doesn't automatically fetch lyrics from online databases like LRCLIB or similar services. There are a few reasons:

• Spinmusic runs in your browser. When using local mode, your music files never leave your device. Fetching lyrics from an external API would require sending song titles and artist names to a third-party server, which conflicts with the privacy-first approach.
• Copyright restrictions. Song lyrics are copyrighted material. Most lyrics APIs either require paid licenses, impose strict usage limits, or prohibit redistribution. Services like Musixmatch, Genius, and others have legal agreements that prevent open access.
• Community databases are incomplete. Free databases like LRCLIB contain a growing but limited collection. Many songs — especially non-English or lesser-known tracks — simply aren't available.
• Quality varies. Automatically fetched lyrics often contain errors, wrong timestamps, or mismatched songs. By adding lyrics yourself, you ensure they're correct for your specific files.

Further Reading

• Wikipedia: LRC file format — detailed specification of the format
• LRCLIB — a community database of synced lyrics

Spinmusic displays cover art that is already stored in your music files. It does not download, generate, or provide any cover images — everything comes from your own collection.

Where Covers Come From

Cover art can be stored in two places, and Spinmusic checks both:

1. Embedded in the Audio File

Most music files contain a cover image embedded directly in their metadata. This is the standard way music players handle cover art:

• MP3 files store covers in ID3v2 tags (specifically the APIC frame)
• M4A/MP4 files store covers in iTunes metadata (the covr atom)

Embedded covers are the preferred method because they travel with the file — if you move or copy the audio file, the cover goes with it.

2. Image Files in the Same Folder

If no embedded cover is found, Spinmusic looks for an image file in the same folder as the audio file. It prefers files named:

• cover.jpg, cover.png
• folder.jpg, folder.png
• front.jpg, front.png
• album.jpg, album.png

If none of these exist, any image file in the folder is used as a fallback. Supported image formats are JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP.

Changing Cover Art

You can change the cover art for any song by dragging and dropping an image onto the cover display area while a song is playing.

1. Play a song so the cover display is visible
2. Find an image on your computer (JPEG, PNG, GIF, or WebP)
3. Drag the image file onto the cover area in Spinmusic
4. The new cover is embedded directly into the audio file

What Happens During a Cover Update

When you drop a new image onto the cover display:

• Playback is briefly paused to release the file for writing
• The existing cover metadata in the audio file is replaced with the new image
• All other metadata (title, artist, album, track number) is preserved
• The cover cache is updated so the new image appears immediately
• Playback resumes automatically

Applying a Cover to an Entire Album

After changing a cover, Spinmusic asks whether you want to apply the same image to all songs in the album. This is useful when you have a full album folder where every track should share the same cover art.

Cover Display

Spinmusic shows cover art in several places:

• Song list — small thumbnail next to each song
• Cover display panel — larger view on the right side when a song is playing
• Expanded view — full-size cover in the expanded player overlay
• Browser tab — the favicon updates to show the current song's cover

If no cover art is found (neither embedded nor in the folder), a music note placeholder is shown instead.

Supported Formats

Tips

• Use square images. Cover art is traditionally square (e.g. 500×500 or 1000×1000 pixels). Non-square images will work but may be cropped or letterboxed.
• Keep file sizes reasonable. Very large images (over 5 MB) increase the audio file size significantly. A 1000×1000 JPEG at good quality is typically around 200–400 KB.
• Embed rather than use folder images. Embedded covers are more portable and won't get lost when files are moved or reorganized.