Sayph Music is the simple way for your child to listen to music and radio on their Sayph phone – without an algorithm deciding what they hear next, autoplaying music videos, or pulling them into endless recommendations. It brings together two things: a small selection of live radio stations, and a built-in player for music files you load onto the phone yourself.
It helps to think of it as an internet radio app with a built-in music player, rather than a streaming service. It isn’t Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music – there’s no on-demand library of any song you can think of. We explain why a little further down.
Like everything on Sayph, it’s off by default. It only appears on your child’s phone once you choose to switch it on from Sayph Space, so you decide if and when music becomes part of their phone. Sayph Music is rolling out to Sayph phones now.
What’s included
Live internet radio
A small selection of mainstream UK radio stations – such as BBC, Virgin and Heart – streamed live over the internet, just like an ordinary radio set tuned to a station. Because it’s live radio, it needs a mobile-data or WiFi connection to play. There are no on-demand feeds, no personalised playlists and no algorithm: you get whatever the station is broadcasting at that moment, and that’s the point.
A built-in music player
A straightforward player for music files you add yourself – MP3 and M4A files – loaded onto the phone using a microSD card. There’s no streaming account, no recommendations and no music videos: only the songs you and your child have chosen. Because the music lives on the card, it plays without using any data, which makes it ideal for journeys, holidays and anywhere with patchy signal.
Why isn’t Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music on Sayph?
We’d really love to offer the big streaming services, and we will keep looking at ways to do it. The challenge is that the way these services currently let other apps connect to them doesn’t allow us to build the safer, locked-down, parent-controlled experience Sayph is built around – not for every Sayph family, in a way we’d be happy to present to our community. That’s why, for now, Sayph Music is an internet radio app with a music player, rather than a full streaming service.
Streaming services can often keep listeners engaged with recommendations, autoplay and music videos – so until we can find a way to provide the music without these features, we’re not ready to put them on the Sayph phone. Rather than bolt on a compromise, we’ve started with live radio and your own music files, and we’ll add more if and when we can do it properly. If that changes, we’ll let you know.
How to add your own music
You add music with a microSD card – a small, inexpensive memory card you can buy from most supermarkets, electronics shops or online. Here’s how it works:
- Get a microSD card. If your computer doesn’t have a microSD slot, you’ll also need a card reader or adapter (these are cheap and widely available).
- On a computer, copy your MP3 and M4A music files onto the card. You can simply drag and drop them – you don’t need any special software. If you save your files into folders on the card (for example one folder per album or artist), Sayph Music will group them the same way on the phone, which makes it easier for your child to find what they want.
- Switch the Sayph phone off and open the SIM tray – the same tray that holds the SIM card. You may need the little SIM-tray tool that came with the phone, or a straightened paperclip, to pop it open.
- Place the microSD card into its slot in the tray, then slide the tray back in.
- Turn the phone back on. As long as Sayph Music is switched on in Sayph Space, your child’s tracks will appear in the player, ready to play.
The microSD card sits alongside the SIM in the same tray, so both share one slot. You can also use the card to copy photos off the phone if you’d like to save them somewhere else.
Where do MP3 and M4A files come from?
MP3 and M4A are standard music file types that play on almost any device. The most common ways to get them are:
- Buy and download individual tracks or albums from online music stores – you own the files outright and can copy them to the card.
- Use music you already own – copy across files from an existing music library on your computer.
- Import from CDs you own, using free software on a computer to ‘rip’ the tracks into MP3 or M4A files.
Note: please only load music you’re entitled to use, and remember that some songs contain explicit lyrics. Because you choose exactly what goes on the card, you stay fully in control of what your child can listen to.
Good places to download songs, audiobooks and podcasts
A few reputable places to fill a microSD card cheaply or for free – all offer standard MP3 or M4A files that work with Sayph Music:
- Bandcamp – buy songs and albums directly from the artists as DRM-free MP3s, often for a pound or two a track.
- Qobuz – a mainstream download store for chart and classic albums you own outright.
- Free Music Archive and Jamendo – thousands of free, legally downloadable tracks from independent musicians.
- LibriVox – free audiobooks of classic children’s books and other out-of-copyright titles, read by volunteers and downloadable as MP3s.
- BBC podcasts – most BBC podcasts, including plenty made for children, can be downloaded free as MP3 files from each programme’s page.
- Fun Kids – the UK children’s radio station offers a big range of free podcasts for younger listeners.
Most other podcasts are free too – a show’s own website will usually have a download link for each episode.
Switching it on or off
You control Sayph Music from the Sayph Space portal, where there’s a simple toggle to turn it on or off – just like the camera. When the update first arrives on the phone, Sayph Music is switched off, so you’ll need to toggle it on in Sayph Space before it appears. While it’s off, the app icon doesn’t even show on your child’s home screen; switch it on and the icon appears, switch it off and it disappears again. That way music only becomes part of their phone when you’re ready for it.
Live radio needs a data or WiFi connection to stream; music files stored on the card play without using any data at all. For a little more on choosing a plan with enough data for radio, see our guide to choosing a SIM.
Got a question about Sayph Music? We’re happy to help – email help@sayph.one, or take a look at our Support Centre and FAQ.
