Skip to main content

Amazon Music now has an app for Apple TV. Here’s how to use it

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Listening to music on your TV? Why not? According to a recent survey by YouGov, more than 40% of people who own a smart TV want to use it to listen to music. Perhaps that’s in part why Amazon chose to launch its first music app for Apple TV.

Starting Thursday, October 10, you can download the Amazon Music app from the App Store for Apple TV — it’s compatible with Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD running tvOS 12.0 and later. If you live in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Japan, or India, all you need is a Prime Music or an Amazon Music Unlimited account to start streaming.

Once the app is downloaded, you need to activate your Apple TV as a recognized device with Amazon. On launching the app, it will display a six-letter pairing code. Using a browser on another device, go to https://amazon.com/code and enter that code when asked. You’re all done.

The Amazon Music app will give you access to the full library of millions of songs, plus albums, artists, and playlists. You can also play content from your My Music personal library. But perhaps the best feature, given that this on a TV, of course, is the scrolling lyrics option — perfect for an impromptu karaoke session, or just practicing for the next time your friends come over.

Unfortunately, subscribers to Amazon’s new Amazon Music HD tier of service won’t be able to stream the CD and hi-res versions that they’re entitled to. At the moment, the Apple TV app doesn’t support either of these higher-quality formats. Instead, you’ll be offered the same catalog as Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers.

The pairing of Amazon Music and Apple TV seems a bit odd, especially when you consider that there’s no Alexa option on Apple’s media streamer. Apple is beginning to open up Siri to third-party music services like Spotify, but even then, it hasn’t rolled out that feature on its HomePod speaker — just iPhones and iPads for now.

Will Siri eventually be able to start Amazon Music playback on the Apple TV? We’re guessing that will happen eventually. In the meantime, Amazon seems content to just make its music service available on more devices. “We believe that listeners should be able to stream music simply and easily on any device they choose,” Karolina Joynathsing, director of business development for Amazon Music, said in a press release.

Editors' Recommendations

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen covers a variety of consumer technologies, but has a special interest in audio and video products, like…
How we test streaming video devices
The box for the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.

One of the benefits of being Digital Trends is that we get to test a lot of things that simply aren’t easily available or replaceable should they not work out for the average person. That’s why we put so much work into testing TVs, for one example. Or full soundbar setups, for another.

Other times it’s because we’re able to take products for a test drive before they go on sale. Like video games, or computers and phones. That’s good because it helps you make a relatively expensive and important purchase decision.

Read more
Apple TV’s multiview feature now out of beta and live for all
Apple TV's multiview feature as seen with Friday Night Baseball.

After spending a few weeks in beta form, Apple TV's multiview feature is now live for everyone for Major League Soccer matches and Friday Night Baseball games.

The Apple TV app now has a multiview feature on Apple TV hardware running the tvOS 16.5 beta. Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

Read more
Apple TV has quietly been on board the FAST train all this time
Streaming apps that can be connected to Apple TV.

Apple TV, insofar as the name is concerned, is a bit of a mess. It's hardware — the Apple TV 4K box is still the best streaming hardware you can buy. It's a streaming service unto itself — Apple TV+ is Apple's take on HBO. And its software — tvOS technically is the name of the operating system, but there's also a "TV" app ... on Apple TV.

The Apple TV app itself also is, shall we say, a bit busy. It's home not just to Apple TV+, but also to exclusive sports like MLS Season Pass and Friday Night Baseball. And if you've ever bought a movie or show from Apple, you'll find them there, too. And if you're signed in to another streaming app that plays nice with Apple's TV app — and there are a lot of them — you'll find that content in there, too.

Read more