How do I sync my itunes library with my iphone?

If I sync iTunes with Spotify so I can listen to my iTunes library via Spotify, does that take up physical storage space on my iPhone?

• I have a 16GB iPhone from work, and my iTunes music library is somewhere in the 25GB+ range, so I don't (and don't want to) sync my iTunes with my iPhone directly. I have a premium Spotify account, and am thinking that a good work-around here is to sync iTunes to Spotify, and then use Spotify to listen to my iTunes music on my iPhone, which would not require me to use any of my iPhone's storage capacity for holding the actual music files. Before going through the very long process of doing that sync, I am looking for confirmation that this does in fact work in the way that I think it does. If I sync iTunes to Spotify, and use Spotify to listen to my iTunes library, does this take up any physical drive space on my iPhone, or is it all being streamed from "the cloud"?

• Answer:

  Your assumptions are essentially correct.  By default, Spotify streams only using a Wi-Fi or 3G connection and doesn't store anything locally on your device.  You can choose to make specific Spotify playlists "Available Offline" in which case they are downloaded and cached so you can listen to them without an active Internet connection -- useful if you work in a building with poor coverage or regularly travel by plane or subway. It's worth mentioning, however, that Spotify can only sync songs from your iTunes library that are also in the Spotify catalog, so your mileage may vary on how much of your actual iTunes library will be available via Spotify.  The best way to confirm this, however, is to try it, and since you already have a Spotify Premium account, that shouldn't be a problem. If you find that Spotify doesn't work out for you, it may also be worth taking a look at iTunes Match when it becomes available in the U.S.  iTunes Match has the advantage of replicating your entire library in the sky, including uploading music that isn't otherwise in the iTunes Store's catalog, so you will not only have access to ALL of your music, but will also automatically get all of your existing iTunes playlists and the ability to track metadata such as last played times and counts.