Is there any way to always play Spotify with my play buttons?

Ensuring Consistent Control of Spotify with Keyboard Media Buttons: A Guide

Many users enjoy integrating their keyboard’s media keys — such as back, play/pause, and forward buttons — to streamline their music experience. These keys often provide convenient control over media playback, especially when configured properly. However, challenges can arise when these controls do not consistently target your preferred application, such as Spotify, instead interacting with other browser tabs or system sounds. If you find that your media keys sometimes play audio from Chrome or other sources rather than Spotify, this article offers insights and potential solutions to establish reliable media control.

Understanding the Issue

Typically, media keys on standard keyboards are designed to send signals recognized by the operating system’s media framework, which then directs playback commands to the active media application. In your setup, you’ve configured these keys using SharpKeys, a key remapping tool, to control Spotify’s playback functionality. While this setup works well generally, irregularities occur when, for example, clicking the sound icon in your system tray or having multiple audio sources causes your media keys to interact unpredictably — often with Chrome tabs instead of Spotify.

Common Causes

1. Application Focus: The media keys usually control the media player that is currently in focus or the one designated as the system’s default media application.
2. Audio Focus and System Handling: Windows and other operating systems sometimes route media commands based on what application is actively using audio or has focus.
3. Web Browser Behavior: Certain browsers can intercept media controls or have media sessions that sometimes conflict with dedicated media keys.

Potential Solutions

1. Set Spotify as the Default Media Player

2. Ensure that Spotify is marked as your system’s default media handler. On Windows 10/11, this can be adjusted through Settings > Apps > Default Apps.

3. Set Spotify explicitly for music playback and link common media protocols if applicable.

4. Use Dedicated Media Control Software

5. Consider software such as AutoHotkey scripts that can explicitly send media control commands directly to Spotify.

6. For instance, you can write scripts that always target Spotify’s process, ensuring commands are directed correctly regardless of focus.

7. Configure Media Keys Behavior

8. Some third-party applications (e.g., Media Key Redirectors or Media Player Plugins) can help route media key presses directly to specific applications.

9. On systems like Windows, tools like SoundSwitch or **Media