How to change the default music service on Alexa and Amazon Echo

Time needed: 5 minutes

There are several reasons why you might want to change your default music streaming service on Alexa and Echo and hey, we’re not here to judge. There’s a chance you started your music streaming journey with Spotify, for example, and have a collection of playlists and favorites that you don’t want to have to rebuild on Amazon Music.

There’s also a chance that Spotify or Apple Music has more of the music genre you like compared to Amazon Music, for example, or maybe you just want the music you listen to on your Echo devices to be included in your annual summary that usually appears. towards the end of the year thanks to Spotify and Apple Music.

That’s when you discover that your kids have completely skewed your musical tastes and it’s all about Taylor Swift or the Frozen soundtrack instead of the cool new bands you’ve stumbled upon throughout the year.

Whatever the reason, here’s how to change the default music streaming service that Alexa uses, as well as the one your Amazon Echo uses.

1. Open the Alexa app and go to More
   

   The first thing you’ll need to do is open the Alexa app on your phone or tablet and tap the More tab in the bottom right corner. This will take you to another screen where you can access settings, among other functions.

2. Open music and podcasts
   

   Once you tap the “More” tab, you’ll want to tap Settings. From here, another screen will appear, where you will have to scroll down a little until you reach Alexa Preferences. Below this menu is an option called Music and Podcasts.

3. Select the correct profile
   

   This step is important as any profile you select will be the only one where the default music service will be changed. If you have multiple Echo devices connected to different accounts, for example, you’ll need to change each profile separately, so follow these steps again until you’ve changed all the profiles you want to change.

   To get started, select the profile connected to the first Echo device you want to change to use a different music streaming service.
   

4. Link a music streaming service

   If you want to change the default music streaming service to Apple Music or Spotify, for example, you’ll need to make sure those services are linked to Alexa. If they don’t appear on the Music & Podcasts screen, tap ‘Link new service’ and tap the music streaming service you want to link: Deezer, Apple Music. Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Tidal, whatever.
   

5. Change the default music service on Alexa

   Once you’ve linked your music streaming service to Alexa, you’re ready to change the default. This may happen automatically if you just connect another music streaming service, but if not, follow this step.

   On the same Music & Podcasts screen, make sure the correct profile is selected at the top, and then tap Default Family Services or Your Default Services at the top. If Amazon Music is still selected as the default, tap ‘Change’ to change it to another music service.

   If the music service you want is listed, you don’t need to do anything else, Alexa will use it to stream music by default the next time you request a track.