diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index a863147..610eab9 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ struct Args {
     #[clap(long, short)]
     minimalist: bool,
 
+    /// Whether to start lowfi paused
+    #[clap(long, short)]
+    paused: bool,
+
     /// The command that was ran.
     /// This is [None] if no command was specified.
     #[command(subcommand)]
diff --git a/src/play.rs b/src/play.rs
index c1f5d5c..1946392 100644
--- a/src/play.rs
+++ b/src/play.rs
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ pub async fn play(args: Args) -> eyre::Result<()> {
     let properties = InitialProperties::load().await?;
 
     let (tx, rx) = mpsc::channel(8);
-    let player = Arc::new(Player::new(!args.alternate).await?);
+    let player = Arc::new(Player::new(!args.alternate, &args).await?);
     let ui = task::spawn(ui::start(Arc::clone(&player), tx.clone(), args));
 
     tx.send(Messages::Init).await?;
diff --git a/src/player.rs b/src/player.rs
index 00fff24..07d63cf 100644
--- a/src/player.rs
+++ b/src/player.rs
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ use tokio::{
 use crate::{
     play::InitialProperties,
     tracks::{DecodedTrack, Track, TrackInfo},
+    Args,
 };
 
 pub mod downloader;
@@ -141,7 +142,7 @@ impl Player {
     /// `silent` can control whether alsa's output should be redirected,
     /// but this option is only applicable on Linux, as on MacOS & Windows
     /// it will never be silent.
-    pub async fn new(silent: bool) -> eyre::Result<Self> {
+    pub async fn new(silent: bool, args: &Args) -> eyre::Result<Self> {
         let (_stream, handle) = if silent && cfg!(target_os = "linux") {
             Self::silent_get_output_stream()?
         } else {
@@ -149,6 +150,9 @@ impl Player {
         };
 
         let sink = Sink::try_new(&handle)?;
+        if args.paused {
+            sink.pause();
+        }
 
         let player = Self {
             tracks: RwLock::new(VecDeque::with_capacity(5)),