Did you just get an Amazon Alexa and you want to connect Spotify to it? Then, this article is for you. Here you will learn how to connect Spotify to Alexa and make it your default music player. All you need is your new device, the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet, and your Spotify login info. That’s all!
Alexa speakers play amusingly with other music services, like Spotify. By default, Alexa speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Echo Show rely on Amazon Music to handle your entertainment requests, but you can easily connect Spotify to Amazon Alexa, and make it your default music player also.
Connecting Spotify to Amazon Alexa provides complete control of playback and your music library, with loads of commands for absolute control of your music. When you use Alexa to play music via voice command, it’s possible to connect your Spotify account to Alexa so that all your music automatically plays from Spotify rather than having another music streaming source.
The first thing to do before you can connect Spotify to Alexa is downloads the Alexa app from the Apple or Android app stores on your phone. The Application is known as Amazon Alexa. After downloading the app, you can click on the app, and it will direct you to the home screen. Ensure your Bluetooth connections are already enabled with speakers and other devices close by. You can double-check this in your settings to be certain; a pop-up may give you directions to begin. Finally, on the home screen of the Amazon Alexa app, click on the top option, “Link music services”. That’s it!
You can use Spotify free with Alexa. A recent update revealed that Spotify Free users can play their favorite music on even more smart speakers like Sonos, Bose one and not on Amazon Echo speakers alone. Spotify Free and Alexa are now available in many countries around the world including the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Austria, India, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.
Connecting Spotify to your Alexa-enabled devices grants you access to listen to songs and playlists using voice commands alone. Then, you can also make Spotify your default streaming service, so you can easily command Alexa to play your favorite songs and playlists instantly. Here’s how to connect Spotify to Alexa Speakers and make it your default music player. Read on!
How to Connect your Spotify Account to Amazon Account
Note that only one Spotify account can be paired to an Amazon account, and thus per Alexa-enabled device at a time. In case you can’t find Spotify, this is likely because your Amazon account is registered outside the United States. Alexa’s Spotify integration is not yet available globally. Follow the steps below to connect your Spotify account to your Amazon account via smart speakers:
- Open the Alexa App on your mobile device or navigate to alexa.amazon.com.
- Click on the Play icon from the bottom and you will be directed to the Music & Books section.
- Scroll down and click the More Music Streaming Services / Manage Your Services tile.
- Select Spotify under Music.
- Sign in to your Spotify Premium account with the correct details.
- Finally, link your accounts.
- That’s it!
How to Connect Spotify to Alexa and Make it Your Default Music Player
To connect Spotify to Alexa, the first thing to do is to open the Alexa app and click on More. Then navigate to Settings >> Music & Podcasts >> Link New Service and click Spotify. Next, click Enable to Use and choose Agree. Finally, go to Visit Music Settings and click Change to make Spotify your default music player. That’s it! However, follow the concise steps on how to connect Spotify to Alexa below:
- Open the Alexa app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android. In case you don’t have the Alexa app on your smartphone, download it from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
- Then click on the More icon. This is the three-line icon located at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Click on Settings.
- Click Music & Podcasts (You will find this under Alexa Preferences by scrolling down).
- Click on the Link New Service option.
- Now select Spotify.
- Link account to Alexa.
- Click on Enable to Use.
- Scroll down and click Agree. You will see a big green button when you scroll down.
- Click Close.
- Click Visit Music Settings. This action will let you set Spotify or another streaming service as your default music player.
- Click on Change. You can change the default music player for music, artists and genre stations, and podcasts individually just as you want it.
- Finally, select Spotify. Then click on Change to set Spotify as your default music player in the other categories.
If you don’t want to have to add the phrase “On Spotify” to your voice commands when playing music, then you need to make Spotify the default player:
Note that if you are not logged in to your Spotify account already, you will be directed to input your username and password. You can also decide to continue with your Facebook, Apple, or Google. Then click Log In.
In case you mistakenly clicked Not Now or you want to set your default music player later, you can always change it in the Alexa app later by navigating to More >> Settings >> Music & Podcasts >> Default Services. This method doesn’t work for podcasts, therefore you still need to specify the particular podcast to be played via Spotify in voice commands. Now you have been able to successfully connect Spotify to Alexa!
How to Command the Music
Once Spotify has been set as your default music service, generic requests for songs, artists, albums and playlists will source from Spotify rather than Amazon Music. Here are some examples below:
- Alexa, shuffle the playlist Study Vibes.
- Alexa, play Candy Paint by Post Malone.
- Alexa, play the album Red Pill Blues by Maroon 5.
- Alexa, play Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Requesting for a particular song will only end up playing that song, why not stop; and ask for an album or “songs” from an artist will play multiple songs one after the other. You can also ask Alexa about the current song playing. For instance, you may ask, “Alexa, who sang this song”? And you can also request to “play”, “stop”, “pause”, adjust the volume, etc.
For more features, filter for Music within The Living List of Alexa Commands. You will discover that not all commands work uniformly with Spotify, but Alexa is continually improving Spotify integration. When requesting music for a specific mood or activity, for instance, Alexa will search playlists in Spotify.
In addition, Alexa can’t change Spotify playlists. However, IFTTT features applets that can add songs played by Alexa to a Spotify playlist and keep a Google spreadsheet of the songs you listened to on Alexa.
For optimal compatibility, Amazon Prime members can use Amazon Music, which is included in every Primary subscription, at any given time. Simply include “on Amazon Music” with your command.
How to Control with apps
You can control play from the Alexa app with Spotify streaming on your Alexa-enabled speaker. On mobile devices, you will see an animated sound icon located at the bottom of the screen; on the Web (alexa.amazon.com), you will locate Now Playing in the primary navigation menu.
Within this section, you can easily pause and play, fast forward and backward, and view your queue and history. You have full access to Spotify within the Spotify apps on mobile and desktop devices as well as the Web at open.spotify.com.
Essential Spotify Alexa Commands
Getting started with playing back music from Spotify but you don’t know what to say to Alexa? Here are some essential commands below, and you might not realize you can use some:
Choosing music
The following will work without adding “from Spotify” if you have set the service as your default music player.
- “Alexa, play [title/artist/album] from Spotify”.
- “Alexa, play from Spotify”.
- “Alexa, play [genre] from Spotify”.
Playing music
You can simply say the following:
- “Alexa, play”.
- “Alexa, stop”.
- “Alexa, pause”.
- “Alexa, Volume up / down”.
- “Alexa set the volume to level [number]”.
- “Alexa, shuffle”.
- “Alexa, stop shuffling”.
- “Alexa, who is this”?
- “Alexa, what song is this”?
- “Alexa, when did this album come out”?
- “Alexa, what year was this song released”?
How to Switch Speakers on command.
Users of the Spotify apps and Web players are likely familiar with Spotify Connect, you can easily select among various connected speaker sources. For instance, an iPhone with a connected Bluetooth speaker will display the iPhone’s name as well as the name of the Bluetooth device.
Once your Echo devices are on the same network as the device running the app, you will notice the Echos listed under Connect Control, available for your selection. You will also see any configured Multi-Room Music groups.
With Alexa’s Connect Control for Spotify, you can easily switch from one active speaker, or group of speakers, to another. Simply say, “Alexa, tell Connect Control to play on Device 2” or, “Alexa, tell Connect Control to transfer to Device 3”.
With time, you will need to get used to the device name-number pairings: “Alexa, ask Connect Control to list devices”. Now you have been able to successfully connect Spotify to Alexa!
How to Spotify Podcasts on Alexa
It’s quite easy to play Spotify Podcasts using Alexa. In case you already got your Spotify profile linked, then simply ask Alexa for podcasts as you would like a song, playlist, or album.
However, just because Spotify has been chosen as your default music streaming platform, that does not mean you will automatically have it set as the default podcast playback option.
You will have to either change the default Podcast provider to be Spotify or simply add “on Spotify” to the end of your podcast requests. That’s it!
How to Disconnect Spotify from Alexa
You can disconnect Spotify from Alexa via either the Alexa app or on the Spotify website.
Via the Alexa app:
Follow the steps below to disconnect Spotify from Alexa via the Alexa app
- Open the Alexa mobile app, and click More.
- Select Settings.
- Click Music & Podcasts.
- The Music & Podcasts page lists all the services presently connected to your Alexa (and allows you to link new services as well).
- Locate Spotify on the list and select it.
- On the Spotify details page, click Disable Skill and verify your choice.
- That’s it!
Via the Spotify website:
Follow the steps below to disconnect Spotify from Alexa via the Spotify website
- In a web browser on your Mac or PC, navigate to the Spotify website and sign in to your account.
- Tap Profile at the upper-right corner and then click Account.
- From the list on the left, tap Apps.
- Locate Alexa in the list of apps with access to your Spotify information, and then tap Remove Access.
- Finally, verify your choice.
Once Alexa is up and running, and you have been able to successfully connect Spotify to Alexa, you can even listen to another user’s Spotify account. Simply ask Alexa to “Spotify Connect” and the device will search for another one on the same Wi-Fi network. Ready? Try asking Alexa to play the very best of your library, or help you find something new, by saying: “Alexa Play Spotify” or “Play my Discover Weekly.”
I hope this article has helped you connect Spotify to Alexa without any hassle. Kindly state your suggestions and how this article has helped you while connecting Spotify to Alexa in the comment section before. Thank you for reading thus far.