So, you’ve set up Alexa on your Amazon Echo.
Time to relax and play your favorite music.
But you don’t want just any random song.
You want Alexa to play something specific.
How do you do it?
Read this article to find out…
- 7 ways to play specific songs on Alexa.
- How to create your own playlist on Amazon Music.
- The different commands for playing music on Alexa.
- Music streaming services other than Amazon Music.
- And a lot more…
How to play specific songs on Alexa?
To play a specific song on Alexa, use the voice command. Say “Alexa, play Yesterday by The Beatles.” Your request should include the specific song and artist. Otherwise, Alexa will play the most popular song with that title. This works best if you have a subscription to Amazon Music.
7 ways to play specific songs on Alexa
#1: Subscribe to Amazon Music
Amazon offers a few options for their music streaming service.
If you want to play songs on Alexa, you can choose from:
Option 1: Amazon Music Free.
This service lets you stream songs without a subscription. The main downside is it comes with ads.
If you want to play a song, use the command “Alexa, play some music.” Amazon will choose the most popular songs to play.
Now, requesting a specific song is a bit more tricky.
Let’s say you used the command “Alexa, play Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.”
Alexa will only play a sample of the song for about a minute. It probably won’t even include the chorus.
That’s because Amazon Music Free only has access to select stations and playlists. If the song you want isn’t in one of them, then Alexa can’t play it.
Instead, Alexa will play similar songs or artists that it has access to.
Option 2: Amazon Music Prime.
Amazon Music Prime has access to 2 million songs. And it comes with your Amazon Prime subscription.
Unlike the free version, it doesn’t have ads.
Here, you can request a specific song by using voice command. “Alexa, play Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.”
If the song is included in Amazon Prime’s 2 million songs, then Alexa can play it for you.
Otherwise, Alexa will let you know. You’ll hear it say…
“To play a specific song, sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited.”
Option 3: Amazon Music Unlimited.
This is the ultimate paid version of Amazon Music. It has access to 90 million songs. All ad-free.
This is the sure-fire way you can get Alexa to play that specific song you want.
Just use the voice command. “Alexa, play Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.”
And it will start playing that familiar tune…
“This hit, that ice cold. Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold…”
Note: When requesting a specific song, include the song title and artist’s name in your command.
Just saying the song title will confuse Alexa. And it will start playing whichever song is more popular.
Say you want to play Butterfly by Mariah Carey. You say “Alexa, play Butterfly.”
Instead, Alexa plays Butterfly by the boyband BTS.
#2: Create a playlist
Choosing a playlist is another way to get Alexa to play the song you want.
After all, your playlist has all your favorite songs. To create your own playlist on Amazon Music, here’s what you do:
- Open the Amazon Music menu on your device.
- Go to “My Playlists.”
- Click the “Create New Playlist” option.
- Type in your playlist name and hit “Save.”
- Select “Explore and Add.”
- Hit the 3 dots next to an album or song.
- Click “Add to Playlist.”
Just keep adding the songs you want until you’ve made your playlist.
Then, use the voice command. “Alexa, listen to my <title> playlist.”
Alexa will start playing the songs you added. It’s as easy as that.
Note: Amazon has playlists available on the free version of Amazon Music. Check those out and see if they have specific songs you want Alexa to play. Use the voice command to listen to your selected playlist.
Learn more: How To Keep Alexa From Stopping Music Playback? 9 Steps
#3: Use a different streaming platform
Amazon Music not your thing?
Not a problem! You can use other streaming apps to play specific songs on Alexa.
Say you’ve been a long-time Spotify user. All you have to do is link your Spotify account to the Alexa app and you’ll be good to go.
Here’s how you do it:
- Open your Alexa app on your device.
- Click (or tap) the menu icon.
- Go to “Settings.”
- Under “Alexa Preferences,” select “Music.”
- Hit “Link New Service” at the top.
- Select Spotify from the options.
- Sign in to your Spotify account.
- Tap “Agree” to let Alexa access your Spotify app.
You can also do it the other way around.
Just connect your Amazon Echo speaker through your Spotify app. Then play the music from there.
There’s a catch though. You need to be subscribed to Spotify Premium for Alexa to play the specific songs you want.
If not, Alexa can only play the free playlists available on the app. That’s usually songs from “Today’s Top Hits.”
You can check out Spotify Premium’s services here if you want to subscribe.
Note: You can connect other apps to Alexa besides Spotify. Just follow the same process outlined above. These are the other music streaming apps compatible with Amazon:
Google Play isn’t available on Alexa.
#4: Connect the music from your phone
If you’re someone who buys (or makes) their own music, Alexa can play your songs for you.
You just need to connect your phone directly to your Amazon Echo speaker.
And since you’re not using a paid streaming service, you can listen to any specific song you want. Just be sure your phone has Bluetooth.
Follow these steps to connect your phone to Alexa:
- Turn on your phone’s Bluetooth.
- Place it near your Echo speaker.
- Say the command, “Alexa, pair.”
- Open the Bluetooth settings on your Alexa app.
- Go to “Devices” then “Echo and Alexa.”
- Scroll to the “Connected Devices” section.”
- Tap “Pair Alexa Gadget.”
- Go to your phone’s Bluetooth settings.
- Check if the Echo is connected.
Now that your phone’s connected, just give Alexa the command. “Play <song title> by <artist name>”
You can also control which music to play right on your phone.
Just sit back and enjoy the music.
Note: These are the mobile phone softwares compatible with the Alexa app. Make sure yours is on the list:
- iOS 11.0+
- Android 6.0+
- Fire OS 5.3.3+
Check out: Alexa Not Discovering Devices: 10 Causes & Fixes
#5: Stream from your PC
Just like you can play music from your phone, you can also connect Alexa to your PC.
All you need is a computer with Bluetooth. This is what you do next:
- Open your computer’s Bluetooth settings.
- Go to your Amazon Alexa page.
- Log in to your account.
- Go to “Settings” and select your Echo device.
- Click (or tap) “Bluetooth” then “Pair New Device.”
- Select your computer from the list.
- Select “Allow” on the notification on your PC.
- Wait for the device to pair.
Once you’ve done that, open your computer’s music library. Go ahead and tell Alexa to play the specific song you want.
It’s that simple.
Note: Your computer’s operating system should be compatible with the Alexa app. It’s recommended that your PC have Windows 10 or the latest Mac OS.
#6: Use an external app
Another option for playing specific songs on Alexa is by using an external app.
This is best if you have a huge collection of MP3 files from CDs and downloads. You can’t get those from typical streaming services.
There are 3 external apps that you can choose from:
Installing these on your device can get pretty tricky. So be sure to check out each one before you download.
What’s great is that you can still use Alexa’s voice commands with these apps.
Though the apps can be slow to respond compared to Amazon’s built in music services.
#7: Take advantage of voice commands
One of Alexa’s unique features is the voice command.
If you know how to connect your device or streaming apps to Alexa, you can play specific songs.
But it gets better when you know which voice commands to use. Here are some of them:
- “Alexa, play <album title> by <artist>.”
- “Alexa, play music by <artist>.”
- “Alexa, play music from <streaming app>.”
- “Alexa, play <playlist title> from <streaming app>.”
- “Play a Prime playlist.”
- “Show me <songs/playlist/genres> from Prime Music.”
You can also specify which version type you want a specific song to be played in. Alexa will play it if it’s in your library.
These are the common music types Alexa can play for the songs you want:
- Live.
- Studio.
- Remix.
- Original.
- Acoustic.
- Remastered.
- Instrumental.
- Clean Explicit.
To choose a version type, just use the command: “Alexa, play <version type> <song title> by <artist name>“.
If you know your Alexa commands, you can play any song you want.
Reading recommendation: 12 Reasons Why Alexa Doesn’t Respond To Commands + 12 Fixes