Link Spotify to Alexa
- Open the Amazon Alexa app on your phone.
- Tap “More” in the bottom menu, then “Settings.”
- Tap “Music & Podcasts.”
- Tap “Link New Service.”
- Select “Spotify.”
- Sign in with your Spotify username and password.
- Tap “Agree” to grant Alexa access to your Spotify account.
Both Spotify Free and Spotify Premium work with Alexa. Free accounts have shuffle-only playback for playlists and limited skips. Premium gives full on-demand control.
Set Spotify as Default Music Service
Alexa uses Amazon Music by default. To switch to Spotify so you don’t have to say “on Spotify” with every request:
- In the Alexa app, tap “More,” then “Settings.”
- Tap “Music & Podcasts.”
- Tap “Default Services.”
- Under “Music,” select “Spotify.”
- Optionally, set Spotify as the default for podcasts too under the “Podcasts” section.
With Spotify as the default, saying “Alexa, play rock music” automatically plays from Spotify. Without this, Alexa plays from Amazon Music unless you add “on Spotify” to every command.
Voice Commands
| What You Want | Say This |
|---|---|
| Play a song | “Alexa, play [song] by [artist]” |
| Play an artist | “Alexa, play [artist]” |
| Play a playlist | “Alexa, play my playlist” |
| Play Discover Weekly | “Alexa, play my Discover Weekly” |
| Play a genre | “Alexa, play hip hop” or “play workout music” |
| Play a podcast | “Alexa, play [podcast name] podcast” |
| Skip | “Alexa, next” or “Alexa, skip” |
| Pause / Resume | “Alexa, pause” / “Alexa, resume” |
| Volume | “Alexa, volume 6” (scale of 1 to 10) |
| Like a song | “Alexa, like this song” |
| Shuffle on/off | “Alexa, shuffle on” / “Alexa, shuffle off” |
| Repeat | “Alexa, repeat” or “Alexa, loop” |
| What’s playing | “Alexa, what’s playing?” |
| Play on a specific device | “Alexa, play jazz in the kitchen” |
Use Spotify Connect
Spotify Connect gives you more control than voice commands. You browse and queue songs from the Spotify app while audio plays through the Echo speaker.
- Open the Spotify app on your phone.
- Play any song.
- Tap the “Devices Available” icon at the bottom of the Now Playing screen (speaker with sound waves).
- Select your Echo device from the list.
With Spotify Connect, you can build queues, browse playlists, and control everything visually from the app. The Echo appears as a castable device whenever both your phone and the Echo are on the same WiFi network. This works with both Free and Premium accounts, though Premium users get full control.
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Play on Multiple Echo Devices
- In the Alexa app, tap “Devices,” then “+” then “Set Up Multi-Room Music.”
- Name the group (e.g., “Everywhere,” “Downstairs”).
- Select the Echo devices to include.
- Say “Alexa, play Spotify on Everywhere.”
All selected devices play the same music in sync. You can also move music between devices: “Alexa, move music to the bedroom.”
Add Spotify to Alexa Routines
- In the Alexa app, tap “More,” then “Routines.”
- Tap “+” to create a routine.
- Set a trigger (voice command, time, or event).
- Tap “Add action,” then “Music.”
- Type what you want to play (a playlist name, genre, or artist).
- Select Spotify as the provider and choose which Echo device plays it.
Example routines: “Alexa, good morning” plays your morning playlist at medium volume, or a scheduled routine plays chill music every evening at 8 PM on the living room Echo.
Spotify Free vs. Premium on Alexa
| Feature | Spotify Free | Spotify Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Play specific songs | Sometimes shuffle-only | On-demand |
| Play playlists | Shuffle only | In order or shuffle |
| Skip tracks | 6 skips per hour | Unlimited |
| Ads | Yes, between songs | No ads |
| Spotify Connect | Limited | Full control |
| Multi-room music | Yes | Yes |
| Offline playback | No | No (Echo needs internet) |
Troubleshooting
“I can’t play Spotify right now.” Check that your Spotify account is still linked: Alexa app, then Settings, then “Music & Podcasts.” If Spotify shows as linked, try unlinking and relinking. Also check if Spotify is playing on another device – Free accounts allow playback on only one device at a time. Premium allows multiple devices.
Alexa plays Amazon Music instead of Spotify. You haven’t set Spotify as the default. Go to Alexa app, then Settings, then “Music & Podcasts,” then “Default Services,” and select Spotify. Or say “on Spotify” at the end of your request.
Wrong playlist playing. Alexa sometimes plays a similarly named playlist instead of yours. Be as specific as possible: “Alexa, play my playlist called Road Trip on Spotify.” The word “my” helps Alexa search your saved playlists rather than Spotify’s public library. Make sure the playlist is saved to your Spotify library.
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Can’t find podcasts. Make sure Spotify is set as the default podcast service too (not just music). In the Alexa app, go to Settings, then “Music & Podcasts,” then “Default Services,” and set podcasts to Spotify. Say “Alexa, play [podcast name] podcast on Spotify” if you haven’t set the default.
Audio quality sounds low. Echo devices stream at the quality level set in Spotify’s settings. The speaker hardware (especially Echo Dot and Echo Pop) limits audio quality. For better sound, use an Echo Studio or connect your Echo to external speakers via the 3.5mm jack or Bluetooth.
Can multiple family members use their own Spotify accounts?
Yes. Each household member can link their own Spotify account through their own Amazon profile. Set up Amazon Household to share the Echo device between profiles, then use “Alexa, switch profile” or set up Alexa Voice Profiles so the Echo recognizes who’s speaking and plays from that person’s Spotify account automatically.
Does Spotify on Alexa support podcasts?
Yes. Say “Alexa, play [podcast name] podcast” and it plays through Spotify. You can pause, resume, skip forward (“Alexa, skip forward 30 seconds”), and go back. Set Spotify as the default podcast provider in the Alexa app so you don’t have to add “on Spotify” to every podcast request.
Can I control Spotify on Alexa from my computer?
Yes, through Spotify Connect. Open Spotify on your desktop, click the devices icon in the bottom-right, and select your Echo speaker. You can browse, queue, and control playback from the desktop app just like you would from the phone app.
Sources
Spotify – Spotify on Alexa | Amazon – Link Music Services
