Alexa doesn't recognize a Spotify playlist

[user-removed]

Plan

Free

Country

Canada

Device

Pixel 7, Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen.

Operating System

Android 13

My Question or Issue

I created an Eagles playlist using Spotify on my phone. When I ask Alexa to play this playlist on Spotify, it plays Eagles radio on Spotify, rather than my playlist. I can play the playlist using the Spotify app on my phone, but not using an Alexa command.

Should the free version of Spotify allow me to do this?

[user-removed]

This is a follow up to my original post.

Someone did reply saying that I probably had two Spotify accounts and that I should delete one of them. That post has vanished.

I did delete the account that I created with Google, but I now have a mess! When I try to sign in with my email address, it asks for my password, which I cannot remember. So I asked for an email so that I could reset my password, but no email is forthcoming. I tried to create a new account using my email address, but I'm told that there is already account using that email, and that I should log in instead. That takes me back to the log in window which asks for the password that I can't remember! So I can't sign in, and I can't sign up for a new account!! And Spotify never sends an email to let me reset my password, so I am totally locked out.

My apologies for creating this mess and I hope someone can help.

[Eni]

Hey there @user-removed, 

Thanks for reaching out about this here in the Community. 

Just to confirm, are you trying to reset your password from this page? If so and it still doesn't work, would you mind trying again from an incognito window and a different device? It's also worth trying while connected to a different network. Additionally, make sure to use the email address you registered on your account. 

If the issue persists, could you send us a screenshot of the error message you're getting? You can attach it to your next response by using the Insert image option in the post editor. Make sure not to send any private info.

We'll be on the lookout. 

[AC1943]

Thanks for the reply.

I decided that the easiest solution was to delete both accounts and create a new one, which I have now done. I did this on my desktop, then created a small playlist. Then I signed into the new account on my Pixel 7 successfully and could see the playlist I had created on my desktop. That playlist will play on my phone, but I am unable to play it by issuing a command to Alexa to play it on my Amazon Echo. I have linked my Amazon account to Spotify. Alexa repeats the command I give but plays Eagles Radio, not my Eagles Favourites playlist. The command I give is "Alexa play Eagles Favourites playlist on Spotify", but it does not work.

Am I doing something wrong or am I missing something important? Any help would be appreciated.

[Eni]

Hi there @AC1943, 

Thanks for getting back to us. 

When you give a command to Alexa to play a specific playlist, it'll search within the whole Spotify catalog for any similar results, so if the name of the playlist is too generic, it'll play the result that more closely matches with the search. This is why it may not play your own playlist.

In this case, we'd suggest to rename the playlist to a more unique name, though we can't 100% guarantee that Alexa will play the correct playlist when given a command. Another workaround for this specific case is to start the playback from your phone or desktop and play it through your Echo Dot selecting it from the Connect list in the mobile or desktop apps:

For more info about the Connect feature, take a look at this article. 

Hope this helps. If you have any questions or need a hand with anything else, the Community is here for you. 

[AC1943]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try renaming the playlist later today.

I already started the playback from my desktop with no problems, but that defeats the purpose of using my Amazon Echo. I want to give a voice command to start my playlist.

[AC1943]

This is a follow up to Eni's suggestion.

I renamed the playlist to Best of the Eagles. I can play it on my phone and on my desktop. On either one I can then play it through my Amazon Echo. However, when I ask Alexa to "Play my Best of the Eagles playlist on Spotify", Alexa tells me that she cannot find this playlist on Spotify. This is very frustrating. I don't know if the problem is Alexa or Spotify.

[Susan_GP]

Hi @AC1943,

Thanks for keeping in touch.

You mentioned creating a new account, so we suggest making sure the Alexa app is linked to that new account. In order to do it, launch the Alexa app on your cellular device, tap the “More” tab at the bottom-right corner and go to “Settings”. Tap “Music & Podcasts” and select “Spotify” under the “SERVICES” section. Tap “DISABLE SKILL” and “DISABLE” in the new window to confirm your action. Once done link the accounts again, with these steps. Additionally, we also recommend following the steps to Set Spotify as the default.

If that doesn't help, try restarting your Alexa and check again. 

Let us know how that goes.

[AC1943]

Thanks Susan. Some limited progress to report.

I did everything that was suggested, and I also renamed my playlist to "Al's playlist #1" It consists of 4 Eagles songs. When I ask Alexa to play "Al's playlist #1 on Spotify", she announces "Al's playlist #1 radio from Spotify", and that also shows on the Echo Dot. An Eagles song plays, but not one from my playlist, followed by a non-Eagles song.

So I have no idea what is happening. Where does "radio" come from after the playlist name, why does Spotify play a song not on my playlist, and why is the next song not even an Eagles song?

If Spotify can't do what I want (play a playlist I created on Spotify) then I will have to give up on it.

[Lyubka]

Hey @AC1943,

Thanks for getting back to us.

We'd recommend that you try to factory reset your smart speaker as this might fix it. 

In case you need additional assistance for your Echo device, we'd suggest reaching out to the Amazon customer support for further help. You can do this here.

Hope you'll find this useful. Take care 🙂 

[AC1943]

Didn't work, so I am giving up on Spotify.

Thanks for trying.

[christoni]

You might just need to include "my" in the command, so that Alexa knows to search in your library

[kahunakuna]

you know Spotify gives you all these suggestions, but they are all BS. This is a common problem showing up everywhere and they have no solution, but they would rather run us around in circles than admit they have a problem. Only  solution, ditch spotify and go to a different service

[Moonclamp]

I've just started a 3-month trial of Spotify Premium, and I'm replying to this because I'm experiencing the same issue. It seems to be common problem.

I use Alexa to invoke playlists in my car, and as such fiddling with my phone is dangerous and potentially illegal.

However, I am heavily invested into the Alexa system, and I know full well that rebooting and resetting the hardware will be futile -- I have, however, reset and reenabled the skill and that made no difference at all.

[BSOutdoors]

Hey @AC1943 and anyone else trying to do this, I figured or how to do this. I even made it part of a routine, maybe it will work for you too!

Use the format “wake word”, “playlist name” “on Spotify”.

ex. “Alexa Best of the Eagles on Spotify” 

I know the grammar is screwy but that should work!

[Flo49]

I have four 'my' playlist on Spotify.  Alexa will play all of them except one.  I tried deleting the entire playlist and I have tried renaming it to something unique, "Cucumber"  Just now I said, "Alex Cucumber on Spotify"  She responded by saying "Cucumber by Jay Husk on Spotify"  All of MY other playlist work just fine. Any suggestions?

[soundslikebliss]

I’ve been having this issue as well.

I previously would be able to play my playlist through Alexa or a routine, now it simply does not identify the exact same playlist that was working for the past 2 years.  I’ve had this issue for months but figured it would eventually sort itself out.  It has not. 

Edit: upon further testing, I realize that Alexa can only "see" the last 20 Spotify playlist (I haven't tested this with apple music or other streaming apps).  When I deleted some apps, it was able to see further back.  I really don't like having to remove playlists just to be able to see my own playlist.  A "work-around" is to recreate the same playlist with all the same songs.  But this is annoying if you like to keep the dates you added the songs.  

[rosspresser]

In case anyone at Spotify is actually listening. NONE of these suggestions have ANY afffect whatsover on the problem. I have a playlist named simply "Tracey1". It is marked public and my profile is also marked public. Alexa refuses to find the playlist. I have tried many names -- it is NEVER found. WHEN WILL YOU FIX THIS???

[Moonclamp]

Plan

Premium

Device

Amazon Echo (various)

For some reason, my Amazon Echo devices cannot find all my Spotify playlists.

If I unlink the skill, and then re-link it, it will find different playlists, but again, not all of them. I can repeat this indefinitely, but it never finds the complete set.

Any ideas?

[username958743]

I had to re-link my spotify account to alexa for this to work. I don't know why it randomly breaks like that for people, but this stuff should not happen. Spotify staff and Alexa staff should get their stuff working correctly.