# Spotify Web Player in FreeBSD via the midori browser. This is now obsolete - please see below!



## Conny Andersson (Mar 25, 2017)

Sometime in late April 2017 Spotify changed their Web Player from Adobe Flash to HTML5 and they now also use the Widevine DRM. And I can't use the Spotify Web Player anymore in FreeBSD. I have tried with both www/chromium and www/iridium. Both browsers were compiled from ports, which took a very, very long time. But it was wasted time, because the Spotify Web Player does not work in neither of these browsers in FreeBSD. No response to the setting "Allow site to play protected content" in www/chromium and no option to "Enable DRM in the yellow warning bar at the top of the screen" in www/firefox-esr as one can read at Spotify's website.

Widevine is a Google Company and at their website one can read:
"What is Widevine DRM? Widevine's DRM solution combines the following industry adopted standards to provide robust multiplatform content protection: Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), Common Encryption (CENC), Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)."

So I am stucked. Has anyone been lucky to solve this new Spotify Web Player, Widevine/DRM problem in FreeBSD? Thank you in advance!

OLD NOW OBSOLETE TEXT:
Well I think there is a way to use Spotify in FreeBSD using the Web Player. One can as a FreeBSD user compile midori, a small browser from www/midori

(The midori website tells me that: 'Certain sites, including Spotify, will require Adobe Flash Player'.)

But I am pretty sure that my midori built from ports runs the Spotify Web Player fine without any Flash Player at all.

I spent circa 10 hours to get Spotfy to work with FreeBSD and nothing worked before I found midori. (The wine way is too complicated to go just for listening to some  Spotify music. Firefox does not work since the linux-flashplayer does not work with the Spotify Web Player due to some library soup, the same soup goes for the clementine-player's Spotify module.)

I my self always build applications from the ports. Midori on my FreeBSD system is a 64-bit binary as this command shows `file /usr/local/bin/midori`

```
midori: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, x86-64, version 1 (FreeBSD), dynamcally linked, interpreter /libexec/ld-elf.so.1, for FreeBSD 10.3,stripped
```

The sound quality via FreeBSD and midori seems great. Actually the best bitrate is circa 160 kbps when running the Spotify Web Player no matter what OS or browser that may be used. Right now I am listening to Anne Gastinel's album 'Bach 6 Cello Suits' which I am used listen to from CD. It also sounds great via midori in FreeBSD. I am Spotify Premium user if that has anything to do with the sound quality, I do not know.

One thing I have noticed is that if midori is built with config option GTK3 you may sometimes be asked to download the Flash Player. But the default is GTK2 and so far, many hours later the Spotify Web Player has not asked for any Flash Player.

Has anyone else using FreeBSD been able to play the Spotify Web Player this midori way? If so, has there been any problems?


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## talsamon (Mar 26, 2017)

Flash should work with www/firefox-esr.
I cannot test spotify, I refuse spotify.


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## Conny Andersson (Mar 26, 2017)

talsamon said:


> Flash should work with www/firefox-esr.
> I cannot test spotify, I refuse spotify.



You are right, but not with Spotify's Web Player for some strange lib reason.


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## rigoletto@ (May 1, 2017)

You may want to know they finally are making an HTML5 web player, but no ETA as far I know.


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## Conny Andersson (Jun 13, 2017)

lebarondemerde said:


> You may want to know they finally are making an HTML5 web player, but no ETA as far I know.


Sometime in late April 2017 Spotify changed their Web Player from Adobe Flash to HTML5 and they now also use the Widevine DRM. And I can't use the Spotify Web Player anymore in FreeBSD. I have tried with both www/chromium and www/iridium. Both browsers were compiled from ports, which took a very, very long time. But it was wasted time, because the Spotify Web Player does not work in neither of these browsers in FreeBSD. No response to the setting "Allow site to play protected content" in www/chromium and no option to "Enable DRM in the yellow warning bar at the top of the screen" in www/firefox-esr as one can read at Spotify's website.

Widevine is a Google Company and at their website one can read:
"What is Widevine DRM? Widevine's DRM solution combines the following industry adopted standards to provide robust multiplatform content protection: Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), Common Encryption (CENC), Encrypted Media Extensions (EME)."

So I am stucked. Has anyone been lucky to solve this new Spotify Web Player, Widevine/DRM problem in FreeBSD? Thank you in advance!


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## rigoletto@ (Jun 13, 2017)

Hm. Widevine, not good, it seems not available to FreeBSD. When I rarely use Netflix, what also depends on Widevine, I run it on Linux in Virtualbox


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## Conny Andersson (Jun 13, 2017)

lebarondemerde said:


> Hm. Widevine, not good, it seems not available to FreeBSD. When I rarely use Netflix, what also depends on Widevine, I run it on Linux in Virtualbox


Well I myself, more and more lean towards to use Tidal instead of Spotify. Tidal's web player works like a charm via www/firefox-esr in FreeBSD. Check Tidal out in FreeBSD with some nice music, and you don't need an account to listen to 30 secs of each track.


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## rigoletto@ (Jun 13, 2017)

I do not like streaming at all, I just have Spotify and Netflix accounts because my brother have those family packs and gave me an account of each one of those. However, if I would pay for a music streaming service, I am 100% sure I would went to Qobuz.

Beyond the fact Qobuz have the biggest classical music catalog, what is what I usually listen to, they plans are quite nice. I think it is more expensive than Tidal, but I personally find a more interesting service.

EDIT: they also have a webplayer¹ what seem to be working quite fine, and now their own standalone software. However I think that software is just available to Apple and Windows for now.

EDIT.2: while they are just officially available at a few jurisdictions, one just need to drop an e-mail to them and they deal with anyone, anywhere. 

¹you can create an account and test.

Cheers!


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## Wayne8 (May 25, 2018)

Try the desktop version with TuneFab Spotify Music Converter will be the best alternative to use Spotify web player.


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## 3bark (Jan 12, 2022)

Conny Andersson said:


> Well I myself, more and more lean towards to use Tidal instead of Spotify. Tidal's web player works like a charm via www/firefox-esr in FreeBSD. Check Tidal out in FreeBSD with some nice music, and you don't need an account to listen to 30 secs of each track.


I can't seem to get Tidal audio working now in Firefox, though may just require further tuning of pulseaudio? It sounds like they've likely updated to something more DRM-ish since Conny's reply in 2018. interestingly music videos work fine for me on Tidal though. And there is also a free ad-supported tier of account now.


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## grahamperrin@ (Jan 14, 2022)

Solved - TIDAL – DRM required (for audio but not necessarily for video, apparently)
					

… Spotify … Widevine DRM. … can't use the Spotify Web Player … tried with both www/chromium and www/iridium. …    Well I myself, more and more lean towards to use Tidal instead of Spotify. Tidal's web player works … with some nice music, and you don't need an account to listen to 30 secs of each...




					forums.freebsd.org


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