Getting banned from Spotify is sudden. One day you're listening normally, the next you're locked out with a vague email about terms of service violations. No warning, no appeal process that actually works, and no way to download your library on the way out.
The first thing most people think about isn't the subscription. It's the music. Years of playlists, thousands of liked songs, hundreds of followed artists, all sitting behind a login that no longer works.
But if you can still log in - even temporarily - you can get your library out.
Act fast
Spotify bans usually happen in stages. First you get the email. Then your account gets restricted. Sometimes you still have a window where you can log in and see your library, you just can't play anything.
That window is when you need to move. Once the account is fully locked, your options shrink to basically zero.
If you're reading this and your account is still accessible, do this now before anything else: back up your library to a file.
Back up your library first
Tuneferry has a backup feature that saves your entire library to a .tuneferry file on your computer. This includes your playlists (with all tracks and their order), liked songs, followed artists, saved albums, and podcast subscriptions.
The file lives on your device. No server, no cloud storage, no account required to keep it. Even if Spotify completely locks your account tomorrow, you have a local copy of everything.
To back up:
- Go to tuneferry.com
- Connect your Spotify account (the banned one, while you still have access)
- Switch to backup mode
- Download the file
Keep that .tuneferry file somewhere safe.
Transfer to a new account
Once you have a backup (or if you still have login access to both accounts), you can move everything to a new Spotify account.
Connect the old account and the new one. Pick what to transfer. Hit the button. Your playlists show up on the new account with all their tracks in the right order. Liked songs, artists, albums, podcasts - all of it comes over.
The entire process runs in your browser. Nothing gets uploaded to any server. For a typical library, it takes about 5-10 minutes.
If you're already locked out
If your account is completely locked and you never made a backup, there's not much left. Spotify doesn't offer any data export for banned accounts.
A few things you can try:
Your playlists might still be visible if they were set to public. Search for your Spotify username and see if the playlist pages still load. You won't be able to transfer them automatically without login access, but you can at least see what was there.
If you previously used Spotify's data download feature (Settings > Privacy > Download your data), check your email for old export files. These include your streaming history but not your actual library in a usable format.
For the future, the best protection is a regular backup. Tuneferry's backup mode takes about 30 seconds and gives you a file you can restore from at any time, on any account.
What you can and can't recover
| Content | Can recover? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Playlists | Yes | With track order preserved |
| Liked songs | Yes | Including order (precise mode) |
| Followed artists | Yes | All of them |
| Saved albums | Yes | Full album library |
| Podcasts | Yes | All subscriptions |
| Listening history | No | Spotify limitation |
| Algorithm preferences | No | Rebuilds over time on new account |
Your Discover Weekly and Daily Mixes won't transfer - those are tied to your listening history, which Spotify doesn't expose. But once you start using the new account with your full library restored, the recommendations catch up within a couple weeks.
Common questions
Can I appeal a Spotify ban? You can try through Spotify support, but the success rate is low and the process takes weeks. Don't wait for the appeal to start the backup.
Will Tuneferry work with a restricted account? If you can still log in and see your library, yes. If the login is completely blocked, you'll need a previous backup file.
Is it against Spotify's terms to transfer my own library? Tuneferry uses Spotify's official API with your own authentication. You're moving your own music data between your own accounts.
How much does it cost? $6.99 for 30 days of access. One-time payment, not a subscription.
Don't wait
If your account is at risk, back up your library now. It takes 30 seconds and means the difference between losing everything and keeping it all.