How to Play Soundcloud on Alexa: An Easy Guide [2023]

Echo speakers have a huge range of music services available, but you won’t find Soundcloud in their list. Fortunately, there is still a way to play your favorite Soundcloud music on your Amazon Alexa.

In this article, We’ll look at how to play Soundcloud on Alexa, including one easy method and one advanced alternative. I’ll also show you some alternative music streaming services that are already integrated into Alexa.

Can Alexa Play Soundcloud?

Alexa can’t play Soundcloud directly. Amazon has added several music services to Alexa, but Soundcloud isn’t one of them (not yet, at least).

There used to be an Alexa skill called Magic Jukebox that could play Soundcloud music on Alexa. Sadly, Amazon removed it back in 2017.

Instead, you will have to connect to Alexa via Bluetooth from your phone, laptop, or desktop. Basically, any device that can play Soundcloud and has Bluetooth will do.

How to Play Soundcloud on Alexa

You can do this with any device that can connect to speakers with Bluetooth, not just your smartphone. The steps for turning on Bluetooth will vary by device, but the rest of the process will be the same.

1. Get your device into the Bluetooth range of your Amazon Echo, approximately 20–30 feet.
2. Have your Alexa speaker disconnect other Bluetooth devices. If you use the default wake word, just say: “Alexa, disconnect”.
3. Put your phone in pairing mode.
   1. On newer Androids, navigate to Settings -> Bluetooth and toggle the Bluetooth on. Your phone will display a message saying that Bluetooth is on. 
   2. On an iPhone, go to Settings -> Bluetooth and toggle the Bluetooth switch on. There will be a message saying “Now discoverable as…”
4. Next, put your Echo in pairing mode by saying “Alexa, pair”. Alexa should respond by saying “Searching”.
5. Back on your smartphone’s Bluetooth screen, you should see your Echo appear under a list that says “Devices”, “Other devices”, or “Available devices”, depending on your operating system. Select your Echo, and It will be added to known devices list. Alexa will then tell you that it is connected. If you don’t recognize your Echo in the Bluetooth list, just wait a few seconds for Alexa to give you its name. 

Now that your Echo is paired to your phone, you can connect to it at any time by telling your Echo, “Alexa, connect Bluetooth.” If your phone is in range and has Bluetooth on, the connection should happen automatically.

While the devices are connected, you can play Soundcloud on Alexa from your phone. Just run the app or website as you usually would, and the sound will come through your Echo speaker instead of through your phone.

Unfortunately, since the music is playing from your phone, you won’t be able to control it via Alexa voice commands. You’ll have to rely on your phone to play, pause, or skip songs.

Alternative: Create your own Alexa skill

This is a much more difficult option. I strongly suggest that you use the Bluetooth speaker method above unless you have some computer programming experience.

You can still get access to the original Magic Jukebox code, but you’ll need an Amazon developer account to install it on your Echo.

In your developer account, you’ll be able to create an Alexa skill using the Magic Jukebox code.

Make sure your developer account uses the same Amazon login as your Alexa account. Otherwise, you won’t be able to deploy the skill to your Echo.

What Other Music Services Work With Alexa?

If you want an easier way to play music on your Echo speaker, there are plenty of music services that directly integrate with Alexa.

You’ll find all of these music services under Settings -> ‘Music & Podcasts’ in your Alexa app:

• Amazon Music
• Apple Music
• Spotify
• Pandora
• iHeartRadio
• TuneIn
• Deezer
• JioSaavn
• SiriusXM
• Tidal
• Fun Kids Radio

There’s one more service available, but it can only play music videos on the Echo Show:

• Vevo

These services can all be set up in the Alexa app and played directly from your Echo by saying something like “Alexa, play Bruno Mars on Pandora.”

You can also set any one of them as the default music service, allowing you to just say “Alexa play Bruno Mars” without specifying the music service.

These services also integrate more fully into Alexa routines, multi-room music, and other advanced Alexa features. Soundcloud won’t have access to any of these extras unless Alexa finally gives us a Soundcloud skill (or you make your own).

I’d suggest Spotify given its large library of music and the expansive list of Alexa Spotify commands. It’s a particularly great pick if you have a family or roommates since you can have multiple Spotify accounts on Alexa.

What’s Next?

Given how much Alexa costs, it’s one of the handiest, cheapest smart speakers out there. But it does have its limitations.

Beyond the lack of Soundcloud integration, Alexa has to be plugged in unless you buy a third-party battery pack, making it a mediocre travel speaker. And Alexa offline errors can be aggravating.

But no piece of technology is perfect. The wide range of Alexa devices, from the tiny Echo dot to the beautiful sound of the Alexa-enabled Sonos One, make it an ideal ecosystem for your smart home. And Smart Geek Home is always here to help if anything goes wrong.