Play Music on Zoom: Step-by-Step Guide

Zoom is built for speech. That means music often comes through muffled, robotic, or filtered out entirely because Zoom's default settings treat it as noise.

This guide shows you how to fix that. You'll learn:

• How to configure Zoom audio settings for music
• How to set up Original Sound for Musicians and Live Performance Audio
• How to share music from your computer, Spotify, or YouTube
• How to use Tactiq to capture notes from team sessions automatically

TL;DR: How to Play Music - Zoom

Zoom's default audio settings filter out music. To fix it, go to Settings > Audio, scroll to Microphone modes, and select Original Sound for Musicians. Enable High-fidelity Music Mode for better sound quality, or Live Performance Audio if you need lower latency. To share music from Spotify or YouTube, click Share Screen, check Share Sound under Share options, then click Share. If you use Zoom for team sessions or creative exercises, Tactiq (an AI meeting transcription tool) captures your session notes and generates a summary automatically so you can focus on the meeting.

How to Set Up Your Zoom Account for Music Sessions

Zoom's default audio settings are optimized for speech. For music, you need to override them. The steps below walk you through the key settings and where to find them in the current Zoom desktop app.

Configuring audio for music and singing

1. Open Zoom settings by clicking the gear icon.
2. Select the Audio tab.
3. Scroll to Microphone modes.
4. Select Original sound for musicians.

Three nested options appear: High-fidelity music mode, Echo cancellation, and Stereo audio.  Stereo audio is worth enabling if you use a stereo-capable microphone, audio interface, or backing track. Skip it on a weak connection.

Check High-fidelity music mode. It increases audio bandwidth for cleaner sound. It uses more CPU and data, so a wired Ethernet connection is recommended. Leave echo cancellation unchecked if you're using headphones.

To enable Original sound for musicians mid-meeting, click the up arrow next to the microphone icon and select Original sound for musicians under Microphone modes.

You'll need to re-enable this each time you start a new meeting. Keep Zoom updated; the audio settings panel has changed across recent versions.

💡 Pro tip: If your Zoom sessions involve team discussion or feedback rounds, Tactiq transcribes the call and generates a summary automatically. No need to reconstruct notes after the fact.

Advanced audio settings

Live Performance Audio reduces latency further than Original sound for musicians. It requires headphones and a stable wired connection. Recording is unavailable while it's active. Choose one or the other; they don't stack.

How to Share Music During a Zoom Meeting

There are two ways to share music in a Zoom meeting, depending on whether you want to show your screen.

To share audio with your screen:

1. Click the Share Screen button in the meeting toolbar.
2. From the screen sharing menu, select the screen or app window you want to show.
3. In the right panel under Share options, check Share sound.
4. Click Share.

To share audio only, without showing your screen:

1. Click Share Screen.
2. Select the More tab at the top of the window.
3. Select Computer Audio, then click Share.

Sharing music from Spotify or YouTube

Both Spotify and YouTube work via computer audio sharing. Open the app, play background music, then share using either method above. If Spotify audio sounds choppy, try the browser version at open.spotify.com instead of the desktop app. This is a known fix for compatibility issues between Zoom and the Spotify desktop client.

For more on audio sharing options, see our guide on how to share sound on Zoom.

Troubleshooting audio sharing

• No sound for participants? Confirm Share sound is checked in the Share options panel; this is what tells Zoom to share computer sound to all participants.
• Audio cutting out? Switch to a wired Ethernet connection and close unused apps.
• Wrong volume level? Adjust volume within the streaming app, not your system volume.
• Still having issues? Check that Zoom has microphone and speaker permissions in your system privacy settings.

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Why Use Tactiq for Your Zoom Sessions

Once your audio setup is configured, the technical side of running sessions on Zoom is mostly solved. What's harder to manage is what happens after the call: feedback notes, action items, and follow-ups for your team.

Tactiq transcribes your Zoom session in real time and generates an AI summary when the call ends. For remote teams using music for team building or creative exercises, that means:

• A timestamped transcript of everything covered and every decision made
• Notes on what each team member needs to follow up on
• Custom prompts tailored to your workflow; summarize feedback, pull out action items, or draft a follow-up email to send after the session
• No manual note-taking during the meeting or reconstructing it afterward.

Download the free Tactiq Chrome Extension and start capturing your sessions today.

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Get the Most Out of Music on Zoom

Zoom isn't built for music out of the box, but the right settings make a real difference. Enable Original Sound for Musicians, dial back noise suppression and echo cancellation, and choose between High-fidelity Music Mode and Live Performance Audio based on your setup. From there, sharing a backing track, a Spotify playlist, or a YouTube video is straightforward.

If you're running team-building exercises or creative sessions, check out our guides on how to make a Zoom meeting interactive and how to test Zoom before a meeting to get your setup right before participants join.

And if you want to stop losing track of notes and follow-ups, Tactiq transcribes your session and automatically generates a summary, so the admin takes care of itself.

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