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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteYou can no longer add an arbitrary folder of MP3s or FLAC files to Steam Music. Steam discontinued that import feature. The supported Steam-native option is to install a soundtrack offered as a Steam music app or soundtrack DLC. For music you already own as files, use a separate local music player; you can add that player to Steam as a non-Steam shortcut for convenient launching, but Steam will not import or manage those files.
The current answer at a glance
Steam Music now separates two different things that older tutorials often combine: Steam soundtracks sold through the Store, and personal audio files stored on your computer. Soundtracks distributed by Steam remain supported. The former option to point Steam at any local music directory and have it build a library is not.
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Klei Entertainment’s support article, updated March 13, 2026, states: “EDIT 2026/03: This feature was discontinued by Steam and is no longer available.” The notice concerns adding externally purchased soundtrack folders through Steam’s Music settings. It is why the Add button described in older guides may be missing or may not produce a usable library on a current client.
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- A soundtrack purchased on Steam: install it from its Store page or from the Library’s Soundtracks category.
- MP3, FLAC, or other files you already have: play them with a separate local music application. Steam can launch that application through a shortcut, but it does not copy the files into Steam Music.
Install a Steam soundtrack from its Store page
Steam delivers new soundtracks as music apps. The Store-page method is useful when you have just bought a soundtrack or are looking at its product page.
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- Open the soundtrack’s page in the Steam Store.
- Select Play Now. Steam opens an installation dialog for the music app.
- Complete the installation shown in that dialog.
- Open your Library and confirm that the soundtrack appears there as a music item.
Play Now is the installation control for the soundtrack app; it is not the same as starting the game that the music may accompany. Once installation finishes, manage the soundtrack from the Library like the other Steam content associated with your account.
Install from the Library’s Soundtracks category
If the soundtrack is already associated with your Steam account, the Library route avoids returning to the Store.
- Select the Library tab.
- Open the category drop-down under Home.
- Enable Soundtracks.
- Select the soundtrack you want.
- Choose Download Album and let Steam complete the download.
The category filter is important: a soundtrack can be owned but hidden from the ordinary game list until Soundtracks is enabled. The exact placement or appearance of the category can vary with Steam client updates, but the Library category drop-down under Home is the documented path.
When a soundtrack does not appear
Check whether it is older soundtrack DLC
Steam says some older soundtrack DLC requires the associated base game to be installed before the soundtrack is available. Install the parent game, then return to Library, enable Soundtracks under the Home category menu, and check for the album again. This requirement applies to older DLC and does not mean that every standalone soundtrack needs the game.
Distinguish ownership from installation
A soundtrack can be attached to your account without being downloaded locally. The Store page’s Play Now flow and the Library’s Download Album command are the two supported ways to turn that entitlement into an installed soundtrack app.
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Allow for different client labels
Steam’s client strings still contain labels such as Add, Remove, Scan Now, and Scan Steam folders for soundtracks. Their presence in a client build does not establish that arbitrary personal-folder import works. If your interface shows one of these legacy labels, treat it as a version-dependent remnant rather than evidence that Steam will build a library from any folder.
Use Steam > Settings > Music for soundtrack controls
The Music page remains the central settings location. Open Steam in the top-left menu, choose Settings, and select Music.
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Steam documents this page for music settings and for selecting high-quality soundtrack files when a soundtrack provides more than one quality version. The setting affects files offered by the soundtrack; it does not restore the discontinued arbitrary-folder import workflow.
If you are following a current soundtrack installation and need to change its music-related options, start here rather than searching for a separate Music Player application. The page is also where you may encounter old scan-related labels, whose availability and behavior can differ between client builds.
Why the old “Add a folder” instructions no longer work
Historical Steam Music instructions described a different workflow:
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- Open Steam > Settings > Music.
- Select Add or Add a Directory.
- Choose one or more folders containing music.
- Let Steam scan those locations.
- Use Remove to drop a path or rebuild the local music database when the library became stale.
Those steps explain screenshots and forum answers that still circulate, but they predate the March 2026 discontinuation notice. They should be read as historical documentation, not as a supported procedure for a current Steam installation. Repeatedly rebuilding a database or moving your files will not turn a discontinued import feature back on.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThis change also explains several common symptoms: an Add control is absent, a scan option does nothing, or a folder appears in settings while its contents never become playable Steam Music entries. Those symptoms are consistent with a retired workflow, not necessarily with a bad MP3, a missing permission, or an incorrectly named directory.
Play your own MP3 or FLAC collection while gaming
Steam’s supported soundtrack system is not a general-purpose local-file manager. If the music is yours and is not packaged as a Steam soundtrack, keep it in a separate local player that supports your files. MP3 and FLAC are examples of personal formats; the correct player depends on the formats and library features you need.
- Install or open the local music player you normally use.
- Point that application at your existing music folder using its own library controls.
- Test playback there before involving Steam. This separates a file or codec problem from a Steam-library problem.
- If you want one-click access while gaming, use Steam’s Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library function to create a shortcut to the player.
- Launch the shortcut when you want the external player available alongside your game.
The shortcut is only a launcher. Valve’s description says, “This will only add a shortcut to the game in the Steam client.” In this case, the “game” is your music application. Steam does not import the player’s files into Steam Music, does not provide Steam updates for that application, and does not grant Steam ownership of the music or the player.
This arrangement gives you a convenient Steam Library entry without misrepresenting what Steam is doing: playback and library management remain inside the external application, while Steam supplies a launch shortcut.
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Which option fits your music source?
| Source | Current support status | Installation path | Where the files remain | Where playback and library management occur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam standalone soundtrack | Supported | Store page: Play Now; finish the installation dialog | Steam’s installed soundtrack content | Steam’s soundtrack app and Library |
| Soundtrack DLC for a game | Supported; some older DLC requires its base game installed | Library category: enable Soundtracks, select the album, choose Download Album | Steam’s installed soundtrack content associated with the account and, where applicable, the parent game | Steam’s soundtrack controls and Library |
| Personal MP3, FLAC, or other local files | Arbitrary-folder import discontinued | Open the files in a separate local music player | Your existing local folders managed by that player | The external player, not Steam Music |
| External player added as a non-Steam shortcut | Shortcut creation supported; it is not file import | Steam’s Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library command | The external player and your original folders | The external player after Steam launches it |
Troubleshoot by symptom
“I cannot find Add in Settings > Music.”
That is expected if you are looking for the old arbitrary-folder importer. Steam discontinued the feature, so do not treat the missing control as an installation error. Use a Steam soundtrack app for Steam-owned music or an external player for personal files.
“My folder is listed, but Steam does not show the songs.”
Listing a path or seeing scan-related text in a client does not prove that personal-file import is active. The old scan workflow is legacy. Move the playback task to a local music player instead of repeatedly rescanning the same folder.
“I bought a soundtrack, but it is not in my normal game list.”
Open the Library category drop-down under Home and enable Soundtracks. Select the album and use Download Album. Soundtracks are delivered as music apps, so looking only under ordinary game entries can hide the item you own.
“Download Album is unavailable for an older soundtrack.”
Install the soundtrack’s associated base game first. Steam specifically notes this requirement for some older soundtrack DLC. Then revisit the Soundtracks category and try the album download again.
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Open that page and select Play Now. Complete the installation dialog; the soundtrack should then appear in the Library as a music app.
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- When you access your Visa Virtual eGift Card for the first time, you’ll need to register your name, address, phone number, and email address via activationspot.com. These details should also be used as your billing address for online purchases, as many merchants require address verification for purchase authorization.
- This Visa Virtual eGift Card is non-reloadable. No cash or ATM access. Visa Virtual eGift Cards are emailed active.
- Funds do not expire but your Visa Virtual eGift Card has a ‘valid thru’ date (9 years from date of purchase). If funds remain after this date has passed, please call the Toll Free number found on your Visa Virtual eGift Card for a replacement card. A one-time purchase fee applies at the time of checkout.
- This item is not eligible for refund, resale, or return. Available for sale within the United States only. Not available to residents of Puerto Rico, Hawaii, New Mexico, South Dakota, West Virginia and the US Virgin Islands.
“I want higher-quality soundtrack files.”
Open Steam > Settings > Music. Steam exposes quality selection there when a soundtrack offers multiple quality versions. If no quality choice is offered, the soundtrack has not provided multiple versions through Steam’s documented controls.
“Can a non-Steam shortcut make my personal music part of Steam Music?”
No. The shortcut launches the external player only. It does not import files, create Steam soundtrack entries, supply Steam updates, or change who owns the music.
A practical decision path
- You want a game’s official album: find its soundtrack Store page and use Play Now.
- You already own the album on Steam: open Library > Home category drop-down > Soundtracks, select it, and choose Download Album.
- The album is older DLC and missing: install the associated base game, then check Soundtracks again.
- You want to play your own files: configure a separate local music player and optionally add that player as a non-Steam shortcut.
- An old guide tells you to add a directory: do not rely on it; that import method was discontinued.
What Steam Music can and cannot do now
Steam can deliver soundtrack products sold as standalone music apps or as DLC tied to a parent game. It can expose those products in the Library, provide an album download command, and offer soundtrack-related settings, including quality selection when multiple versions are supplied.
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Steam no longer provides the general “point at any folder and scan it into Music” workflow described by legacy tutorials. A non-Steam shortcut is deliberately narrower: it places a launch entry in the Steam client while leaving the application, its files, its updates, and its library outside Steam’s ownership and management.
That distinction prevents the most common setup mistake. If the source is a Steam soundtrack, install it as Steam content. If the source is a collection of files on your computer, use software designed to manage local files and use Steam only as an optional launcher.
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