How to Play Apple Music on Alexa Devices

Table of Contents

Introduction

Apple Music and Amazon Alexa represent two of the most popular music streaming and smart home platforms. By integrating Apple Music with Alexa devices, you get the best of both worlds – access to Apple Music’s vast catalog of over 90 million songs and the hands-free convenience of Alexa voice controls.

Streaming Apple Music on Alexa devices provides several key benefits:

Voice Control – You can use natural voice commands to request songs, albums, playlists and control playback. Just say "Alexa, play today’s hits on Apple Music" or "Alexa, pause the music".
Hands-Free Listening – Alexa allows you to enjoy your favorite music hands-free without having to interact with a screen or device. You can listen while cooking, cleaning or relaxing.
Multi-Room Audio – With compatible Alexa devices, you can stream Apple Music simultaneously across multiple rooms in your home for whole-house audio.
Personalized Experience – Your Apple Music preferences, playlists, stations and recommendations seamlessly integrate with Alexa for a personalized listening experience.

Integrating the two services is quick and easy. Just follow our step-by-step guide to start enjoying Apple Music on your Alexa devices.

Compatible Devices

To get started with Apple Music on Alexa, you’ll need a few key things:

An Amazon Echo or Alexa-enabled device – Apple Music is supported on most Alexa devices including Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo Studio, Echo Flex, and Echo Auto. It will not work on older generation Echo speakers.
An active Apple Music subscription – You’ll need a paid Apple Music membership to link it with Alexa. The free trial version of Apple Music will not work.
Regional availability – As of now, Apple Music is available on Alexa in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Japan. Support for more countries is expected to roll out soon.
A stable internet connection – Both your Alexa device and the device you use to manage your Apple Music subscription should be connected to the internet for setup and streaming.

So if you have a compatible Echo or Alexa device, an Apple Music subscription, and are located in a supported country, you’re all set to integrate Apple Music with Alexa! Let’s move on to the setup process next.

Set Up Guide

To start streaming Apple Music on your Alexa devices, you first need to connect your Apple Music account to the Alexa app. This is a simple 2-step process:

Enable the Apple Music Skill

The first step is enabling the Apple Music skill within the Alexa app:

Open the Alexa app on your phone and tap on the Menu icon in the top left.
Select Skills & Games from the menu.
Search for the Apple Music skill and select it.
Tap Enable To Use to activate the Apple Music skill.

Once enabled, you should see the Apple Music skill listed under "Your Skills" in the Alexa app.

Link Your Apple Music Account

After enabling the skill, you need to link your Apple Music account:

Go back to the Apple Music skill page in the Alexa app.
Tap Link Account.
Sign in using your Apple ID and password.
Follow the prompts to link your Apple Music account.

The linking process may take a few minutes. Once completed, your Apple Music library and playlists will be available on all your Alexa devices.

If you have multiple Apple Music accounts for different family members, you can manage the linked account in the settings later.

Enabling the skill and linking accounts is all you need to do to get started with Apple Music on Alexa! Try some voice commands to test it out.

Voice Commands

Controlling Apple Music with your voice on Alexa devices is easy and intuitive. Here are some of the key voice commands to play music:

Play Songs

"Alexa, play ‘Song Name’ by ‘Artist’ on Apple Music"
"Alexa, play ‘Album Name’ by ‘Artist’ on Apple Music"

Play Albums

"Alexa, play the album ‘Album Name’ by ‘Artist’ on Apple Music"

Play Playlists

"Alexa, play my ‘Playlist Name’ playlist on Apple Music"
"Alexa, shuffle my ‘Playlist Name’ playlist on Apple Music"

Play Artist, Genre, or Station

"Alexa, play music by ‘Artist Name’ on Apple Music"
"Alexa, play some ‘Genre’ music on Apple Music"
"Alexa, play the ‘Station Name’ station on Apple Music"

Play Recently Played

"Alexa, play my recently played songs on Apple Music"

Queue Up Songs

"Alexa, next play ‘Song Name’ by ‘Artist’ on Apple Music"
"Alexa, add ‘Song Name’ by ‘Artist’ to the Up Next queue on Apple Music"

Control Playback

"Alexa, pause"
"Alexa, resume"
"Alexa, skip"
"Alexa, go back"
"Alexa, turn it up/down"

You can get creative and conversational with your requests. Alexa will do its best to understand and play what you ask for!

Setting Apple Music as the Default Music Service

One of the most useful features of the Apple Music integration on Alexa is the ability to set it as your default music streaming service. This allows you to simply say "Alexa, play x song" without having to specify that you want to play it from Apple Music each time.

To set Apple Music as the default service:

Open the Alexa app and go to Settings.
Select Music & Podcasts.
Choose Apple Music from the list of linked services.
Toggle "Make this service your default" to on.

Once enabled, any general music requests will now play from your Apple Music library automatically. You can still specify other linked services like Spotify or Amazon Music when needed, but Apple Music will be used by default.

Some key advantages of setting Apple Music as the default include:

More seamless voice control for music playback
No need to say "on Apple Music" for every request
Direct access to your Apple Music library and playlists
Consistent playback source without having to switch services

If you want to change the default back to a different music service or Amazon Music, simply follow the same steps above and select another service to make default. The settings can be changed back and forth at any time.

Playlists

Creating custom playlists is a great way to personalize your Apple Music experience on Alexa. You can easily create playlists filled with your favorite songs using just your voice or the Alexa app.

To create a new playlist with Alexa, just say "Alexa, create a playlist" and speak the name you want to give it. You can then add songs by saying "Alexa, add to my playlist." Alexa will add the requested songs to the playlist.

You can also create and manage playlists directly in the Alexa app. Simply open the app, go to the Music section, select Apple Music, and tap "Create New Playlist." Give your playlist a name and search for songs to add. Tap the plus icon next to any song to add it.

Once you’ve created playlists, you can manage them by:

Removing songs – Just say "Alexa, remove ___ from my ____ playlist" or use the Alexa app.
Reordering songs – Use the Alexa app to drag and drop songs into your preferred order.
Renaming the playlist – Say "Alexa, rename my playlist to " or edit the name in the Alexa app.
Deleting the playlist – Say "Alexa, delete my ___ playlist" or use the delete option in the Alexa app.

Playlists allow you to easily customize and control the Apple Music experience on Alexa. Group songs however you like for different moods and activities.

Streaming Apple Music on Multiple Alexa Devices

One great benefit of using Alexa for Apple Music is the ability to stream music across multiple Alexa devices simultaneously. This allows you to enjoy your Apple Music library throughout your home seamlessly.

To set up multi-room music with Apple Music on Alexa, you first need to have at least two compatible Alexa devices like the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show. Make sure these devices are on the same WiFi network.

Next, open the Alexa app and select the Devices tab. Here you can create a speaker group by choosing two or more Alexa devices and tapping "Combine speakers". Give the group a name like "Everywhere" or "Downstairs".

Now you can say "Alexa, play some music everywhere" or "Alexa, play my party playlist downstairs" to stream Apple Music across all speakers in that group. The music will sync perfectly across the different rooms.

You can also individually control the volume, pause, or skip tracks on specific Alexa devices in the group. Just say "Alexa, turn up the volume on the Kitchen speaker" or "Alexa, pause the Living Room speaker".

The Alexa app also gives you options to ungroup devices when needed or manage which speakers belong to which groups. Grouping Alexa devices makes it effortless to enjoy Apple Music hands-free anywhere in your home!

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Sometimes you may run into problems getting Apple Music to work properly on your Alexa devices. Here are some troubleshooting tips for the most common issues:

Issues Linking Apple Music to Alexa

If you’re having trouble getting your Apple Music account to link in the Alexa app, here are some things to check:

Make sure you are using the correct Apple ID and password. Double check that you don’t have any typos when entering your credentials.
Try re-launching the Alexa app and attempting the link process again. Sometimes restarting the app can resolve temporary glitches.
Check that both your iPhone/iPad and Alexa device are connected to the internet and able to reach Apple’s servers. Slow or spotty connections can disrupt the linking process.
If you have Family Sharing enabled for your Apple Music account, make sure you are using the primary Apple ID and password, not one of the shared family accounts.
Try unlinking Apple Music in the Alexa app, restarting your device, and then going through the linking process again from the beginning.
As a last resort, you may need to contact Apple or Amazon customer support if you still can’t get Apple Music linked after trying the steps above.

Apple Music Playback Issues on Alexa

If you are able to successfully link Apple Music but are having issues with playback, here are some troubleshooting tips:

Check that the Echo device you are trying to play music on is connected to your WiFi and can reach the internet. Playback problems are often due to connectivity issues.
Make sure you don’t have any music currently playing from another service like Spotify or Amazon Music. You can only stream one service at a time.
Try restarting your Echo device by unplugging it and plugging it back in. This can help resolve temporary glitches.
Check that you have an active internet connection on any mobile devices you are trying to stream Apple Music from. For example, your iPhone needs an internet connection to send music to Alexa.
If you experience buffering or choppy playback, make sure other devices on your network are not using high bandwidth that could be slowing your connection. Streaming music requires a fast, stable internet connection.
As a last resort, unlink Apple Music in the Alexa app and re-link it from scratch. This can clear up any corrupted settings that may be causing issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Alexa play my iTunes music library?

No, Alexa cannot directly access or play music from your iTunes library. The Apple Music integration only gives Alexa access to stream from the Apple Music catalog and service, not your personal iTunes collection. To play iTunes music, you would need to use a different solution like connecting your device via Bluetooth.

Is Apple’s new Classical music app compatible with Alexa?

At this time, Apple’s new dedicated Classical music app is not integrated with Alexa. You can access classical music through the main Apple Music app and service, but the specialized Classical app features are not available on Alexa devices. This may change in the future as the platforms expand their partnership.

Can I stream Apple Music playback from my iPhone to Alexa speakers?

Yes, you can use AirPlay to stream Apple Music from your iPhone to compatible Alexa speakers like Echo Studio and certain Echo Show models. Enable AirPlay in the Alexa app and you can send audio from your iOS devices to Alexa for wireless multi-room playback.

How do I disconnect or unlink my Apple Music account from Alexa?

You can disconnect Apple Music by going into Settings > Music & Media in the Alexa app, selecting the Apple Music card, and choosing Disable Skill. This will unlink your Apple Music account and remove access on all your Alexa devices. You can always re-enable it later if you want to link it again.

Conclusion

Streaming Apple Music on your Alexa devices opens up a whole new world of voice-controlled music listening. With just a few simple steps, you can access Apple Music’s vast library of over 90 million songs through the power of Alexa.

In this guide, we walked through everything you need to know to get started. We covered compatible devices, account linking, voice commands, default music service settings, playlists, and multi-room audio. With these capabilities, you can enjoy seamless access to your favorite music on Alexa speakers like Echo Dot or Echo Studio.

If you run into any issues getting set up or playing back music, refer to the troubleshooting section above. You can also check Apple or Amazon’s official support sites for additional help. Their community forums are another great resource for finding fixes or workarounds from other users.

The ability to control Apple Music with your voice on Alexa devices unlocks exciting new ways to experience music. We hope this guide provided you with all the information needed to start listening today. Now you can sit back, relax, and let Alexa DJ!