Sync your lights with Spotify
You start a playlist, MyStrow listens to the music and drives your DMX lights in time: a flash on the kick, tension on the build-up, an explosion on the drop. No account to link, nothing to program. That's LIVE mode, and it takes three clicks to set up on PC or Mac.
Spotify plays, MyStrow listens
No complicated integration needed: MyStrow listens to the sound coming out of your computer, just like a lighting operator standing next to the speakers. It works out the tempo, the energy and where you are in the track, then picks colours, intensities, effects and moving-head movements to match.
The result: you keep using Spotify exactly as you do every day — your playlists, the queue, shuffle — and your lights follow every track, with nothing prepared in advance. Perfect for a bar, a birthday, a wedding, a gym or a party at home.
Locked to the beat
MyStrow detects the downbeats and the BPM in real time. Flashes, colour changes and effects land on the music, even when the tempo changes from one track to the next.
It feels the drop coming
LIVE mode recognises the CALME (calm), BEAT, MONTÉE (build-up), DROP ! and PEAK sections: soft light on a verse, rising tension on a build, everything lights up on the drop.
Colours, moving heads, gobos
PARs, LED bars, moving heads, strobes: every fixture plays its part. Moving heads move in time, gobos spin, the strobe kicks in at the right moments — all according to your settings.
Three modes to choose from
MUSICAL AI for dancing, MOOD AI for soft background lighting (dinner, drinks, bar), and MANUAL to take back control at any time.
Connecting Spotify to your lights
We assume your fixtures are already patched in MyStrow. If not, start with the getting started guide.
On Mac: install BlackHole (once only)
macOS doesn't let apps listen to the sound output directly. Install the free virtual audio driver BlackHole 2ch, then open Audio MIDI Setup → + button → Create Multi-Output Device, and tick your speakers + BlackHole 2ch. Select this device as the Mac's sound output: you hear the music, and MyStrow receives it too.
Open Spotify on the same computer
The Spotify app or the web player, either works. The sound must come out of the speakers (or sound card) connected to the computer running MyStrowthrough the multi-output device created in step 0.
Switch MyStrow to LIVE mode and choose the source
Open LIVE mode, click the INPUT card and, in the Devices list, choose the output marked 🔊 that carries the name of your speakers, headphones or sound card. Nothing to install: MyStrow captures whatever plays through that output directly.
Open LIVE mode, click the INPUT card and choose BlackHole 2ch in the Devices list.
Choose MUSICAL AI… and start the playlist
Select the MUSICAL AI tile and press play in Spotify. The BPM appears, the indicator moves from BEAT to MONTÉE (build-up) and then DROP ! as the track unfolds, and your lights follow. All that's left is to enjoy it.
📱 Is the music on your phone? Connect the phone to the line input of your computer or sound card with a jack cable, then choose the Micro / Line In source in MyStrow. As a fallback, the computer's built-in microphone placed near the speakers also works.
Tailor the show to your event
LIVE mode works from the very first click, but a few settings make all the difference:
- Allowed groups: let the AI drive only some fixtures, for example the moving heads and LED bars, and keep the room lighting under manual control.
- Movements: choose the moving-head figures, their speed and their size.
- Gobos and strobe: select which gobos the AI may use, turn rotation on or off, and decide whether the strobe can be fast, slow or never used.
- MOOD AI for the start of the evening: soft ambient light during drinks, then switch to MUSICAL AI when the dance floor fills up.
- MANUAL at any time: an announcement, a speech, the cake arriving? Take back control, then restart the AI with one click.
Three Spotify tips
Turn on crossfade in Spotify's settings: with no gap between tracks, the lighting stays alive from one song to the next.
Turn on volume normalisation: every track arrives at the same level, so the lights react the same to an old classic and a recent hit.
Mute the computer's notification sounds during the event: they come out of the same speakers, so MyStrow would hear them too.
You might be wondering…
Do I need a Spotify Premium account?
No. MyStrow doesn't connect to your account: it listens to the sound coming out of the computer. Spotify Free works too, but the ads will get a light show as well — for a party, Premium is more comfortable.
Do I have to link my Spotify account to MyStrow?
No — no login, no password. Spotify plays the music, MyStrow listens to it. The two apps stay completely independent.
Does it work with Deezer, Apple Music, YouTube or SoundCloud?
Yes. LIVE mode reacts to sound, not to a specific app: anything that plays through the computer's speakers can drive your lights.
What if the music is playing from my phone?
Plug the phone into the line input of your computer or sound card with a jack cable, then choose the Micro / Line In source in MyStrow. As a fallback, the computer's microphone placed near the speakers also works.
Your playlist deserves a real show
Download MyStrow, start Spotify and let LIVE mode make your lights dance.
Go further
Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB. MyStrow is not affiliated with or endorsed by Spotify.