Avid Readers

Spotify Podcast and Audiobook Speed for Avid Readers

Presets at 1.25x, 1.5x and 2.0x, with locking between episodes.

💡 Overview

Podcasts and audiobooks are meant for faster listening. Long reading sessions in the browser pair well with quiet background music.

Playback speed ranges from 0.5x to 2.0x with quick presets, and the rate stays locked across track transitions. Pair it with the seek bar in the popup to skip ahead or replay a sentence. Slow down for dense material; speed up for familiar topics.

🧭 A Day of Avid Readers

Long reading sessions in the browser pair well with quiet background music.

The problem: Scrolling back to a music tab pulls you out of the text.

The fix: Control playback from the popup so the article never loses your scroll position.

🚀 Try It in Three Steps

  1. Open the popup while a podcast or audiobook is playing.
  2. Choose 1.25x, 1.5x or 2.0x.
  3. Use the seek slider to move within the episode.

✨ What You Get

  • Zero-polling design: A MutationObserver updates the UI only when the page changes, keeping CPU and memory use low.
  • Dynamic album-art backdrops: A blurred, color-adaptive background drawn from the current artwork, in dark or light theme.
  • Local focus analytics: Daily and weekly focus time, a seven-day chart and top artists and tracks, all stored on your device.
TaskSwitching tabsSpotify-Web Playback Controller
Volume changeOpen the tab, drag a sliderScroll the mouse wheel over the popup
PrivacyDepends on the toolNo credentials collected, local analytics
ScopeAny app, any tabSpotify Web Player (open.spotify.com) only
Resource useA full tab in the foregroundObserver-based, near-zero overhead

Note: it works with the Spotify Web Player at open.spotify.com only, and does not control the desktop app.

📸 See It in Action

Spotify-Web Playback Controller mini-player

Mini-Player

Spotify-Web Playback Controller dashboard

Dashboard

Spotify-Web Playback Controller keyboard shortcuts

Shortcuts

Control Spotify Without Leaving Your Work

Global-capable hotkeys, a mini-player and local-only analytics for the Spotify Web Player.

Get Extension on Chrome Store

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The playback rate is locked across song transitions.

Yes. The range starts at 0.5x.

It can be if you spend your day reading long articles. Control playback from the popup so the article never loses your scroll position.