How to Seamlessly Play Music on Your Discord Server

So you‘ve created a Discord server and want to liven up the experience for you and your friends with some sweet tunes. There are a few ways to play music through voice channels to DJ your chat parties and gaming sessions.

In this guide, I‘ll explain the easiest methods for streaming music on Discord and provide some pro tips I‘ve learned from admining large public servers. Whether you prefer using bots or manually controlling playlists, you‘ll have professional DJ capabilities on your server after reading. Let‘s get this party started!

A Brief History of Discord Audio

First off, what makes Discord so popular compared to old-school voice chat apps?

Discord launched in 2015 and quickly gained momentum with gamers due to free servers, stellar voice latency, and no setup hassle. Over the years, Discord has significantly expanded its audio, music, and live streaming capabilities.

Key milestones:

2016: Screenshare added
2017: Video chat and Go Live streaming
2018: Spotify account linking
2021: Stage channels and audio API for bots

Today, over 150 million active users hang out in Discord servers each month. Both individuals and big brands leverage Discord‘s slick audio features to connect with their community.

Why Play Music on Your Discord Server?

Here are some of the key benefits:

Makes gaming nights and chat sessions more fun
Allows users to queue up their favorite tracks
Creates a "radio station" vibe without interruptions
Spotify integration is great for listening parties
Custom soundboards are awesome for tabletop RPGs

Method #1: Streaming Music with Bots

Dedicated music bots are hands down the best way to play great tunes on your Discord server. They‘re designed specifically for streaming audio from YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, and more.

Let‘s compare some of the most popular options:

Bot	Setup Difficulty	Song Selection	Spotify Support	Advanced DJ Features
Rythm	Easy	Excellent	Yes	Advanced playlists, EQ
Groovy	Easy	Great	Yes	Lyric displays, queues
Hydra	Medium	Good	Partial	Robust moderation tools
Chip	Hard	Medium	No	Custom command creation
FredBoat	Easy	Huge library	No	GENIUS lyric integration

I‘ll demonstrate installing Rythm bot since it has the most well-rounded features, but the process is similar for others.

Step 1: Add Rythm Bot to Your Server

First head over to the Rythm bot listing on top.gg and click the "Invite" button.

Select the server you want to add it to and authorize the permissions it needs.

You‘ll then see Rythm join your server – it‘s that easy!

Step 2: Join a Voice Channel & Queue Songs

Join any voice channel and Rythm will auto-join. You can use the /play command to queue up tracks:

/play Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee

Rythm will also fetch tracks from YouTube, Spotify, Soundcloud, and more by searching keywords.

Tip: Create a dedicated #rythm-requests channel for queues so your conversations don‘t get flooded.

Step 3: Configure Advanced Audio Settings

In the Rythm control panel, you can tweak volume, queues, moderation, playlists, and more. It offers incredibly detailed audio options like 10-band EQs.

Some of my favorite power user features are:

Importing existing Spotify playlists for everyone to enjoy
Setting a max song duration to avoid 10 hour loops
Temporarily muting new users to prevent troll ear rape

Suffice to say, Rythm and other advanced music bots will level up your entire server‘s audio experience. It‘s like having a free 24/7 DJ!

Method #2: Spotify Listen Along Integration

If you prefer playing music directly from Spotify, Discord‘s built-in Listen Along integration lets you stream to your friends.

To get started:

Step 1: Connect Spotify to Discord

Click on the Discord Settings icon > Connections:

Select Spotify and click Authorize. This will permanently link the accounts.

Step 2: Create a Listen Along Link

Now in any server text channel, click the + icon > "Invite to Listen Along".

This generates a shareable URL that your friends can click to instantly start listening to your currently playing Spotify tracks in real time:

The link stays active while Spotify plays on your end. Listen along support works on both desktop and in mobile apps.

Some limitations to note:

Users must have premium Spotify accounts
There is no song queueing functionality

If you want advanced queues, bots are still better. But Spotify integration shines for casual listening sessions amongst friends.

Playing Custom Soundscapes (RPGs, etc)

For tabletop RPG groups on Discord, ambient background music and sound effects set the vibe and draw players into the world. Manually triggering these as game master is difficult…but custom audio apps can automate the process.

Based on interviews with admins from servers like D&D Inn and RPG Tavern, here are top options:

Stream Background Audio in a Side Channel

If you already have background tracks prepared, the simplest approach is streaming your desktop audio through Discord‘s screensharing feature.

Steps:

Move your audio player app to a secondary monitor
Start screensharing that display monitor
Solo the audio sharing if needed for performance
Toggle between ambient tracks as needed

Most admins take this approach initially but wish for more control…which dedicated apps provide.

Use Paradox Bot for One-click Audio

Paradox bot offers advanced audio workflows specifically for TTRPGs.

You can set up playlists for different scenarios that game masters can switch between with slash commands:

/amb Forest Night
/amb Battle
/fxs Spell Explosion

No need to juggle external music players. This keeps your game running smoothly!

Mix Dynamic Soundscapes with KenkuFM

KenkuFM is by far the most powerful tool for reactive audio:

Features include:

Cinematic soundtrack creation
Seamless crossfades between loops
One-click triggers for sound effects
Volume/balance/pan mixing
Vocal processing for NPC voices

While KenkuFM requires more complex setup, it enables Hollywood sound design that responds to your gameplay. Let your imagination come alive!

Tips from Seasoned Discord DJs

Between hosting music events and RPG campaigns, I‘ve learned a few audio tricks over the years:

Always have a backup music bot in case one goes down
Use @ mentions instead of Everyone pings when announcing new tracks
Test speakers/headphones to playback the way your users will hear
Pay for bot premium tiers to access better quality streaming
Respect copyright! Share creative commons or original mixes whenever possible

What tips do you have? Share your expertise in the comments below.

I hope this guide helped explain multiple methods for playing music through Discord. Now you can host listening parties, game soundscapes, and everything in between.

Let me know if you have any other questions – I‘m happy to help fellow audio enthusiasts level up their servers!