Smart speakers are an essential part of a connected home, as they let you control most of your IoT (Internet of Things) objects, as well as help you with daily tasks, such as setting reminders and telling you about the weather. They’re also primarily designed as speakers, meaning you can play your favorite tunes on them, regardless of the source. These speakers can be connected to your phone using Bluetooth or used with an online streaming platform, such as Spotify.

With its Echo lineup, Amazon has one of the complete range of smart speakers and displays on the market. By default, these use Amazon Music but are compatible with other streaming services. Changing the default one to your favorite is easy and only takes a few minutes.

What music services do Amazon Echo devices support?

In addition to working with Amazon Music, Echo devices support several third-party streaming platforms, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Sirius XM, Spotify, Tidal, and TuneIn Radio. It isn’t compatible with YouTube Music, as Amazon and Google have been rivals and usually don’t make their devices interoperable. In addition to these services, you can use your phone or device to cast media over Bluetooth to your Echo Speaker, but this implies losing voice controls and other features.

How do I change the default music app for my Amazon Echo?

To change the default music provider, install the Amazon Alexa app on your phone and sign in with the same Amazon account that your Echo device is linked to. From there, the steps are straightforward:

1. In the Play tab, tap the cogwheel icon in the upper-right corner.
2. Scroll down and tap Link New Service.

3. Tap the service you wish to link.

4. Tap Enable to use.
5. Go through the sign-in process for the service you selected.
6. When the app says your account is linked, tap Close.

7. The app asks if you want to choose a default music service. Tap Visit music settings.
8. Change the default services by tapping Change for each category you want to use this service with.

If you’ve linked your service of choice and need to change the default one, the steps are slightly different:

1. In the Play tab, tap the cogwheel icon in the upper-right corner.
2. Tap Default Services.

3. Change the default services by tapping Change for each category you want to use this service with.

Use your Echo smart speaker as a speaker

One of the nice things about Alexa is that you can have different default services depending on the action. If you want, you can have Amazon Music play songs you request, Spotify play stations or playlists, and Apple Podcasts play your podcasts. The settings are in the Alexa app.

If you prefer, you can transfer your content from one provider to another, which can be helpful if you’re coming from YouTube Music since it doesn’t work with Echo speakers.