Have you ever been so busy working with your hands that you cannot touch your device when the music reaches the end of the playlist?
Sometimes, you wish you could give your device a voice command. The good news is that today it is possible with Alexa.
Please give your undivided attention to this article as you see how you play music from Spotify via Alexa.
Yes, indeed, there is no doubt that Alexa can play music from Spotify. All you need to do is get an Alexa app, connect it to your Spotify, and ensure that you set up Spotify as your default music player. Then by linking them together, you can easily give voice commands to your music player via Alexa.
Can You Play Spotify Playlist on Alexa?
Yes, of course, you can play your Spotify playlist on Alexa. All you have to do is do these two important things:
- Linking your Spotify account with Alexa
- Setting Spotify as your default music player
#1. Linking Spotify With Alexa
Below are a few steps that, if you endeavor to adhere completely to, you will successfully link your Spotify account with Alexa;
- Download and launch the Alexa app
- Go to the navigation bar at the bottom and tap ‘More.’
- Tap on ‘Settings’
- Then tap on ‘Music.’
- On the Manage Services section, tap Spotify
- Tap on ‘Link Account’
- A Series of simplified instructions should come with the ‘Link Account’ page; follow it.
#2. Set Spotify as Default Music Player
Your setting Spotify as the Default music player settles a lot of issues. For instance, you can give a simple direct command, “Alexa play 2Pac,” and it will do so automatically.
However, if you do not have Spotify as the default music player, you will be forced to give a much longer command like “Alexa play 2Pac on Spotify”.
Below are the steps you should take to set up Spotify as your default music player;
- Open the Alexa app
- Go to the navigation bar at the bottom and tap ‘More.’
- Tap on ‘Settings’
- Then tap on ‘Music.’
- Scroll to the bottom and tap ‘Account Settings, then tap on ‘Default Services’
- Finally, choose Spotify as Default Music Library.
To help the connection between both apps remain in sync, you need to have a premium account on Spotify and Alexa-enabled speakers.
Luckily all of Amazon’s Echo models support streaming with Spotify. It also supports most speakers, so confirm everything by double-checking.
How Do I Get Alexa to Play Music From Spotify?
Once you have finished with the setup, both apps will be in sync. And Alexa will be able to play music from Spotify by default.
Suppose you intend to play any particular playlist. In that case, you must give the direct command, “Alexa play [mention the playlist name].”
You can bypass the Alexa voice command when you don’t know, have a challenge deciding, or don’t know the name you gave a playlist. But the good news is that you can still play it from the Alexa app.
To succeed in this, you can activate the Alexa app by doing the following;
- Tap on ‘Play’ after opening the Alexa app
- Go to the Spotify playlist section and scroll until you find the playlist you intend to play.
- Then select the Alexa device that will play the playlist from Spotify
With this, your music will begin to play automatically on the device you select and intend it to play on. Whether it is your mobile phone, Pandora, or any other.
All you have to say is, “Alexa play [mention playlist] on Pandora.” Or you may do it directly from the app, like in the case above.
Some of the things that are remarkable about Alexa are;
- You can raise and reduce the volume on Alexa with voice commands
- You can skip music tracks with voice commands
- You can request Alexa to repeat music via voice commands
- With voice commands, you can get any information on any particular music.
There may be situations where your Alexa refuses to play your playlists from Spotify. If this happens, what should you do to correct matters and restore proper functioning?
Why Can’t I Play Spotify on My Alexa?
Sometimes, Alexa would not play your playlist but rather random music. If this happens, it is because she did not hear you correctly.
However, it becomes serious when she fails to play all your songs. And if Alexa keeps denying your request, then there are a few fixes you may want to try.
The first thing would be to restart your Alexa app and if this fails, try confirming if Spotify is still on the default music player setting. Do this by tapping ‘More’ in the lower right-hand corner.
Then go to ‘Settings,’ scroll down and tap ‘Music and Podcasts.’ Then select default and ensure you enable Spotify. If it is a result of poor connection, this will solve it.
Sometimes, Alexa may not play your playlist but it makes some rather weird sounds because of the name you gave the playlist. If this is the case, you need to rename the playlist.
In renaming the playlist, open your Spotify and tap the ‘More’ icon in your device’s upper right-hand corner after you tap the playlist you intend to edit.
Tap on the playlist name, and then type a new name. When you have finished, tap on ‘Save’ to retain the new name.
Another reason Alexa will not activate the playlist you want is if the shuffle is on, so you must go to the playlist and turn the shuffle off.
If you are using or operating on the correct account, I do not doubt that all these will address your problem.
Can Alexa Play Spotify Without a Phone?
Previously, Alexa couldn’t play Spotify without a phone. For instance, back then, it was almost functioning as just a Bluetooth speaker but not anymore.
Today you can leave whatever you are listening to on your mobile phone to your Alexa (Echo speaker), and it will continue from where you left it.
However, this remarkable change from Amazon became a spark for bigger things, pushing Amazon Echo towards being an open-ended platform.
And even up to date, Spotify is still a strong competitor against Amazon Prime Music. And the ability to access over 82 million tracks brings joy to Echo owners.
How to Play Spotify on Alexa Without Premium
In 2016, when Amazon Echo began working hand in hand with Spotify, an Alexa user must have a premium account as a requirement to play music from Spotify.
The table below shows the current offers available for using Spotify on premium accounts, as well as the cost and no of accounts that it accepts;
| Premium Offer | Cost/ Number of Accounts |
|---|---|
| Individual | $9.99/ month (1 account) |
| Student | $4.99/ month (1 account) |
| Duo | $12.99/month (2 accounts) |
| Family | $15.99/ month (6 accounts) |
But then, as of 2019, Spotify announced that their free tier would be able to stream across Alexa-powered devices. Although among Amazon Echo devices, only Alexa has this offer.
Thus now, this Alexa support is now available for United States, Australian, and New Zealand users.
Apart from Alexa, Sonos and Bose smart speakers also offer a free tier. And without any geo-restriction, they are available to users from all over the world.
So if you have an Alexa device, you can ask Alexa to play “Today’s Top Hits,” “Discover Weekly,” and many others.
However, you must set up a Spotify connection with the Spotify app’s Sonos and Bose smart speakers and soundbars.
Also, this connection works well with the new indoor/ outdoor speaker Sonos Move and Symfonisk Ikea WiFi Speaker that integrates with Sonos Home Sound System.
Alexa can now play free music on Spotify due to the amazing fit pulled by Amazon as a direct challenge with Spotify.
I remember this happening when Amazon announced that they were making their music free on several devices like Fire TV, Android, IOS, and even the web.
Just before the availability of the free music services of Amazon on Echo devices, it was a rival of music services like Pandora and Spotify.
Although, it was limited to just 2 million tracks when placed in comparison with Spotify having up to 50 million tracks. Yet still preferable for casual music station listeners.
Nevertheless, after making a free tier on Spotify and the number of songs available, a lot of people are moving from the free streaming of Amazon to that of Spotify.
Now Spotify can help you find new free music based on your listening history and the songs you like. And this is because of its unique personalization capability.
And today, Spotify faces a lot of rivals like Apple Music and Youtube music, as well as other players in the big market like India and China.
Conclusion
With Alexa, you can play music from Spotify by linking your Alexa and Spotify together, and setting Spotify as the default music player makes it easier to use.
If Alexa fails to play from Spotify, there are a few fixes that you can carry out. First, Alexa allows you to play from Spotify without a premium account due to its free tier.
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