Guide · Music Intermediate
Show your Spotify on the TV
Theatrium puts whatever you're playing on the dashboard — album art, track and artist, and the tempo-driven visualizer. For Spotify, the reliable and free route is through Last.fm: Spotify only lets a handful of accounts connect directly to other apps, but Last.fm quietly mirrors whatever you play — Spotify Free or Premium — and Theatrium reads that. One-time setup, about five minutes.
TheatriumOn your Apple TV
Why go through Last.fm? Spotify caps how many accounts can connect its data to outside apps, so a direct connection often comes back “access denied.” Last.fm has no such limit, it's free, and it works the same whether you're on Spotify Free or Premium. If you tried to add Spotify directly and it was refused, this is the fix.
Create a free Last.fm account
Go to last.fm and sign up — it's free. Already have a Last.fm account? Skip to the next step.
Connect Spotify to Last.fm
On the Last.fm website, open Settings › Applications and connect Spotify. From then on, Last.fm automatically records whatever you play. Apple Music is not listed there; for Apple Music on a Mac or iPhone, see When Now Playing doesn’t show your music.
Add Last.fm to Theatrium
On the Apple TV, open Settings › Now Playing in Theatrium, choose Last.fm as your music source, and enter your Last.fm username. That's usually all it needs — the connection key is already built in.
Press play
Start a track the way you normally would — on your phone or computer, or in the Spotify app on the Apple TV itself, then switch back to Theatrium. A moment later it appears on the TV — album art, title and artist — and its tempo drives the visualizer. There's nothing to keep open on the Apple TV; Theatrium just follows along.
Good to know
- No Premium required. This works with Spotify Free or Premium — Last.fm mirrors both.
- Apple Music on this Apple TV needs no Last.fm. Choose Apple Music in Settings › Now Playing. Apple Music on a Mac, iPhone or iPad does go through Last.fm, with a scrobbler app on that device; see When Now Playing doesn’t show your music.
- It mirrors, it doesn't remote-control. Because the track comes through Last.fm, it can take a few seconds to appear, and there are no play/pause or scrub controls on the TV — you drive playback from your phone as usual.
- Saw “access denied” connecting Spotify directly? That's Spotify's account limit, not a fault at your end. Last.fm is the way around it.
- Album art and the tempo visualizer are built from the track details Last.fm reports.
This guide is general information, provided “as is” with no warranty of any kind. It describes independent third-party software that Theatrium does not control, and the steps involve installing software and changing settings on your own equipment — back up first and proceed at your own risk. Read the full disclaimer.