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jriker1
Contributor III
January 21, 2019
Answered

Alexa and SONOS play local music content?

  • January 21, 2019
  • 8 replies
  • 2811 views
I am working on a smart home design and as part of this am looking at Sonos and also being able to use the Alexa functionality of it for voice commands. I also want to be able to tell Alexa to play music or playlists off my local music library. If I'm running the SONOS desktop controller, are you able to do voice commands and have Alexa play music from your local collection?
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    Best answer by melvimbe
    The Alexa/Sonos integration does not allow for requesting audio from your local library. Essentially, you can only play the same audio that you'd be able to play on an echo directly. However, thier are 3rd party Alexa skills that can do this. I don't use a local libarly myself and can't recommend anything, but other's on this have used them.

    8 replies

    melvimbe
    melvimbeAnswer
    January 21, 2019
    The Alexa/Sonos integration does not allow for requesting audio from your local library. Essentially, you can only play the same audio that you'd be able to play on an echo directly. However, thier are 3rd party Alexa skills that can do this. I don't use a local libarly myself and can't recommend anything, but other's on this have used them.
    Danny
    jriker1Author
    Contributor III
    January 25, 2019
    I can't find it right now, however there was some kind of announcement on Sonos site I found on my phone (not on me) 10 days ago that said Alexa has a new skill to play local music?
    melvimbe
    melvimbe
    January 25, 2019
    Was it this perhaps?

    https://en.community.sonos.com/smart-home-integrations-229108/announcement-update-to-my-speaker-alexa-skill-for-sonos-6819359

    If so, that's a 3rd party app not directly supported by Sonos or Alexa. As I stated before, I don't use it so can't say anything good or bad about it. Maybe PM the author and get more info from him?
    Danny
    jriker1Author
    Contributor III
    February 14, 2019
    Yeah this is getting frustrating. Personally I'd prefer a skill that doesn't overlap as much as the above does with the official Sonos Skill. Found one or two other skills that came with a server piece, but they all seem to have issues with Sonos ONE due to what they say, "their limited implementation of the Alexa API in their ONE product".

    So far has found:

    https://www.mymediaalexa.com - But says it has issues with Sonos due to API limitations. haven't heard back if it works but not well or what.

    Emby Server - But requires the continuous pay version. I paid before when it was a one time or as you like but now it's a yearly deal for a tool I use less and less now. Plus people say on the Sonos ONE it has issues with playback but not on the standard Echo products.

    PLEX Server - Similar to Emby with a lot of Sonos specific issues.

    Not sure if there are other options, but so far most scare me from even trying them.

    Thanks.

    JR
    Misfit
    Enthusiast II
    February 14, 2019
    Upload your music library to Google Play Music for free?

    They allow you to upload ~50,000 songs. Similar issue though, you can't use Alexa to start playback from Google Play Music, only control it once it's started.
    jriker1Author
    Contributor III
    February 15, 2019
    Thanks for the reply. Not sure it gets me to where I want to be at as I could do that with my local library but every idea helps. I'd say maybe they will get Google added to the Sonos but at the rate full Alexa support is happening won't hold my breath.

    Thanks.

    JR
    controlav
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    February 15, 2019
    Did you try the one that melvimbe linked?
    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    FelixII
    Lyricist I
    April 12, 2019
    I've found a way to play specific albums and playlists from my local library with Alexa:

    1. Add an album or playlist to your Sonos favorites
    2. Create an IFTTT account and link both the Alexa and the Sonos services
    3. Create a new IFTTT applet
    4. Set "Alexa" => "Say a specific phrase" as the trigger
    5. Set "Sonos" => "Play Favorite" as the action and choose your favorite album or playlist from step 1

    Say "Alexa, trigger [your phrase]" to start the playback on your Sonos speaker(s). You can select the speaker (groups) in step 5.

    This approach requires you to create an IFTTT applet for every favorite that you want to play with Alexa. Since I only have a couple of favorites in my Sonos library, I find it an acceptable workaround until a proper solution is available.

    On the upside, you don't need to have any third-party Alexa skill or server application running. And you can choose your own phrases to make sure that Alexa understands you properly. 😉
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