Amazon on Wednesday launched its own on-demand music streaming service. Amazon Music Unlimited offers access to “tens of millions” of songs from all of the major record labels. Pricing is $7.99 per month for Prime members, and $9.99 for non-members. A $3.99 Echo-only plan is also available for owners of any of Amazon’s internet connected speakers.
Amazon Music Unlimited’s pricing should make it competitive against established music streaming services such as Apple Music, Tidal, Google Play Music, and Spotify. Amazon Music offers a 30-day free trial period, the same as the aforementioned services.
Amazon’s $3.99 Echo-only plan should prove popular with owners of any of Amazon’s lineup of intelligent speakers. The low-priced plan allows users to stream the Amazon Music Unlimited library to an Amazon Echo, Amazon Tap, or Echo Dot, but only to those devices, and not to any of their other Amazon-connected devices, such as computers or mobile devices.
Amazon has plans to offer a $14.99 ($149 per year) family subscription, to compete with similar plans from other streaming providers, offering up to 6 family members simultaneous access to the service. That plan should become available later this year.
Amazon’s library offers music from the Sony, Universal, and Warner libraries, as well as songs from hundreds of indie labels. It offers curated playlists and personalized stations, much like the established streaming services. All of this is available via the Amazon Music mobile app.
Amazon’s new service should prove popular among Amazon Prime members, especially those that own an Amazon Echo-powered speaker. However, the new service enters a highly competitive and crowded market. It remains to be seen if Amazon’s new streamer will offer enough to entice listeners from other services.
Amazon is making it especially easy for Echo, Tap, and Dot users to try out the service, as they merely have to ask Alexa, Amazon’s intelligent assistant, to start their free trial by saying, “Alexa, start my free trial to Amazon Music Unlimited.” Users can then use voice commands to play a particular song, or a playlist based on particular criteria, such as mood, particular time period, artist, or type of music.
Amazon Music Unlimited is live in the United States, and will premiere in the U.K., Germany, and Austria later in the year. For more information, visit the Amazon Music Unlimited page.
