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SeaODal
Contributor I
Apr 10, 2019 1:38 PM UTC
Question

Make Sonos Music Library the Default Library for Alexa

I want to make my sonos music library the default library for Alexa. Currently it is set to the Amazon Music Library. There are no 'sonos' options to change
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    10 replies

    melvimbe
    Apr 10, 2019 1:45 PM UTC
    Alexa/Sonos would need to allow initiating playback of tracks in your music library first before it could be set as the default. Not at all saying I'm against the idea, just that it's not a matter of simply allowing a default setting, but of what would likely be a significant change to the current Alexa/Sonos interface.
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    Danny
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    Apr 10, 2019 6:38 PM UTC
    There are third party solutions to playing your local music library over Sonos via Alexa.
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    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    Virtuoso
    Apr 10, 2019 7:44 PM UTC
    There are third party solutions to playing your local music library over Sonos via Alexa.

    Any more info?. I was trying to get my One to play local library and gave it up as a bad job.
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    Apr 10, 2019 7:56 PM UTC
    There are third party solutions to playing your local music library over Sonos via Alexa.

    Any more info?. I was trying to get my One to play local library and gave it up as a bad job.
    I believe @controlav has produced just such a skill, called 'My Speaker'.
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    SeaODal
    SeaODalAuthor
    Contributor I
    Apr 10, 2019 7:58 PM UTC
    sonos has a skill for Alexa. surely this cant be that complicated? I have tried different commands "Alexa, ask sonos to play ..." and "Alexa, ask synology to play ..." but neither work. I have added the synology music share to sonos and if i use the ios app I can see and play my music. I am going to try another approach by creating a few playlists and see if they can be played by Alexa through my sonos speaker.. Will report back on how things go.
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    melvimbe
    Apr 10, 2019 8:07 PM UTC
    sonos has a skill for Alexa. surely this cant be that complicated? I am going to try another approach by creating a few playlists and see if they can be played by Alexa through my sonos speaker.. Will report back on how things go.

    You've already been told that it doesn't work (outside of third party options), but you're going to keep trying anyway?
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    Danny
    AjTrek1
    Apr 10, 2019 8:12 PM UTC
    @SeaODal

    I hope your idea works for setting music default. My main reason for posting is that I saw your avatar. I see you were quick to jump on the picture of the Black Hole (or so scientists think) ;)

    Cheers!
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    Together Everyone Achieves More = T.E.A.M.
    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    Apr 11, 2019 12:37 PM UTC
    sonos has a skill for Alexa. surely this cant be that complicated?

    Er yes it is. The way Sonos chose to implement their skill (and the API set that Amazon exposed to them) means it is all in the cloud: no access to your local network, which is required to get to your local library (and also your Sonos favorites and line-in for example). For example "play sting from spotfy": Sonos does a cloud search of Spotify for Sting, gets a url, then passes that to your player. However, the Sonos skill (in the cloud) has no way to search your local network for anything. Additionally the music service (Spotify in this case) must be supported by Amazon "natively" before Sonos can search it.

    I chose a different path, and used a companion app to connect my cloud skill to your local network. The upside is I can search your local library, and almost any Sonos-supported music service, the downside is that it is a bit slower and a lot more complicated. My speech syntax is also more wordy due to the way I implemented it, but much of that is on me to fix when I have the time/inclination.
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    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.
    Trending Lyricist I
    Jan 22, 2020 7:07 PM UTC

    sonos has a skill for Alexa. surely this cant be that complicated?

     


    Er yes it is. The way Sonos chose to implement their skill (and the API set that Amazon exposed to them) means it is all in the cloud: no access to your local network, which is required to get to your local library (and also your Sonos favorites and line-in for example). For example "play sting from spotfy": Sonos does a cloud search of Spotify for Sting, gets a url, then passes that to your player. However, the Sonos skill (in the cloud) has no way to search your local network for anything. Additionally the music service (Spotify in this case) must be supported by Amazon "natively" before Sonos can search it.

    I chose a different path, and used a companion app to connect my cloud skill to your local network. The upside is I can search your local library, and almost any Sonos-supported music service, the downside is that it is a bit slower and a lot more complicated. My speech syntax is also more wordy due to the way I implemented it, but much of that is on me to fix when I have the time/inclination.

     

    I tried to install the My Speaker skill and app today to play my local library, but the app is withdrawn. Has it been superseded?

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    controlav
    Lead Maestro
    Jan 23, 2020 2:09 PM UTC

    I have de-commissioned the My Speaker service, yes. It was costing me $40/month to run and the usage (apart from my wife, customer #1) was not worth it. Also Amazon’s verification method was too much overhead for me to continue to bother with.

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    Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.