Why isn’t my Apple Music app linking with Alexa Echo?

Re: Apple Music .... linked it with my Alexa account .... no way of controlling it apart from by voice command, which is far from ideal

Am no expert in this area. However Apple Support do have articles online (links below) that may be helpful:

Eg: See how to: Set up Apple Music as your default music service : Play Apple Music with Alexa - Apple Support

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Re: "Can anyone help me retain Apple Music’s delicious lossless audio?"

Note: Apple Music and lossless aren’t available in all countries or regions.

See: "Turn on Lossless Audio and choose audio quality settings" and more in article below:

Play lossless audio in Music on iPhone - Apple Support

Also more info: About lossless audio in Apple Music - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"What you need

You can listen to lossless on an iPhone or iPad updated to the latest version of iOS or iPadOS using:

• A wired connection to headphones, receivers, or powered speakers
• The built-in speakers
• An external digital-to-analog converter to listen to songs at sample rates higher than 48 kHz"

And: "How to turn lossless on or off

1. Go to Settings > Apps.
2. Tap Music.
3. Tap Audio Quality.
4. Tap Lossless Audio to turn it on or off. From here, you can choose the audio quality for streaming and downloading audio.

• • Lossless for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/48 kHz
  • Hi-Res Lossless for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/192 kHz"

• "To get a lossless version of music that you’ve already downloaded from Apple Music, delete the music, turn on lossless for your device, then redownload the music from the Apple Music catalogue."

• Tips / trouble-shooting : "... bluetooth connections aren’t lossless."

" Streaming lossless audio over a cellular or Wi-Fi network consumes significantly more data. And downloading and storing lossless audio on your device takes up significantly more space.

Higher resolutions use more data than lower ones."

Also: See the FAQ's at bottom of above linked article.

Thank you for your research, for your thoughtful reply, and for letting us know.

If you have any feedback for the Apple Music Team who work behind-the-scenes, here's their web-form: Feedback - Apple Music - Apple

If ever needed: Music Support Team website (info./ support / contact options etc):

Music - Official Apple Support