New Year's Beat Drop Calculator

Enter when the drop, chorus or lyric hits in your song and get the second to press play so it lands at midnight.

The time on the progress bar, like 3:11 or 3:11.5

Enter the drop time to see when to press play.

Check your phone's clock is right (time.gov)

When should it hit?

Pick a city to match its midnight, like New York from LA.

Speaker delay and songs before the drop

Bluetooth or AirPlay lag. Leave at 0 for wired speakers.

Full lengths, in the order you'll play them.

Count back from midnight

Press play as long before midnight as the drop is into the song. A drop at 3:11 means pressing play at 11:56:49 PM. Speaker delay and any songs you play first move that time earlier. Fractions of a second, other time zones and nights when the clocks change are all handled for you.

Try it with a drop at 3:11 or two songs before the drop.

Find the exact second of the drop

  1. Open the version you'll actually play. Radio edits, remasters and music videos often have different intros.
  2. Drag the progress bar to the first beat of the drop and note the time on the left.
  3. Play from a few seconds before and watch the counter. If the drop lands halfway through a second, enter 3:10.5.

We don't list times for popular songs, because they change from version to version.

On the night

  • Turn crossfade off (in Spotify, under Settings, Playback) so the song can't start early.
  • On free Spotify or YouTube, play the song once earlier so any ad is out of the way.
  • Load the song and pause it at 0:00, so it starts the moment you tap.
  • Open party mode for a full-screen countdown that keeps your screen awake.

Questions people ask

What time should I start a song so the drop hits at midnight?

Subtract the drop's time in the song from midnight. If the drop is 3:11 in, press play at 11:56:49 PM. On a Bluetooth or cast speaker, start a little earlier by the speaker delay.

When should I play "In the Air Tonight" on New Year's Eve?

It depends on the version. The album, single edit and live recordings put the drum fill at different points, and viral posts usually assume one of them. Open the version you'll play, find the first hit of the fill, and enter that time.

Does Bluetooth or AirPlay delay matter?

A little. Wireless speakers can lag by a fraction of a second up to a couple of seconds. Enter it as the speaker delay and the press-play time moves earlier. Not sure? Leave it at 0. Nobody counting down will notice half a second.

How do I sync with the ball drop on TV or a livestream?

Broadcasts, and streams especially, run behind real time. Earlier in the evening, compare the broadcast countdown with your phone's clock. If the stream is 6 seconds behind, set a custom target of 12:00:06 AM so your song matches what everyone is watching.

Can I use this for a wedding entrance or a birthday?

Yes. Choose "Custom date & time" and pick the moment, in any time zone. It works for a first dance, a grand entrance or any countdown you want a song to land on.

What if I miss the press-play time?

The page then shows where the song should be right now. Start the song, drag it to that position, and the drop still lands on time.

Is my phone's clock accurate enough?

Usually. Phones set their clock from the network and are normally right to within a fraction of a second. Laptops, or phones with automatic time turned off, can drift by several seconds, so compare with time.gov before the night.