Amazon Takes on Apple Music and Spotify With Its Own Unlimited Streaming Service
The clash of music streaming services has just become even more interesting.
Back in June, it was reported that Amazon had been building upon its Prime Music service to launched its very own ad-free, on-demand music streaming service to take on Apple Music and Spotify. Now, the company has officially introduced the new service, called Amazon Music Unlimited.
What is it?
Content-wise, Amazon Music Unlimited essentially has the same selling points as Apple Music and Spotify.
For a monthly subscription fee, it offers on-demand playback of “tens of millions” of songs from major and independent labels. It allows ad-free streaming with unlimited skips and downloading of tracks for offline listening. Further, it features recommendations and playlists, human-curated as well as algorithm-generated.
What’s special about it?
A key differentiator of Amazon Music Unlimited is its tight integration with Echo, Amazon’s smart speaker that features Amazon’s intelligent personal assistant, Alexa.
When used with an Echo, the service lets users control music playback and streaming with voice commands similar to those used with Siri for Apple Music, like “Alexa, play a song by Adele,” “Alexa, play the new album by Kishi Bashi,” or “Alexa, play Bruce Springsteen songs from the 70s.”
The Echo also offers access to other streaming services, including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and TuneIn Radio, but its more advanced features, like searching songs by lyrics, work only with Amazon Music Unlimited.
How much does it cost?
Amazon Music Unlimited is initially available on two plans: individual and Echo. The individual plan, which supports one account on all compatible devices, is priced at $7.99 per month for Prime members or $9.99 per month for non-Prime members. The Echo plan, which may be used on a single Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Tap speaker, costs just $3.99 per month.
A family plan is set to be introduced soon. It will offer multi-device support for up to six family members for $14.99 per month.
Amazon Music Unlimited comes with a free 30-day trial, which you can sign up for through the service’s website or through your Echo by simply saying, “Alexa, start my free trial to Amazon Music Unlimited.”
Amazon Music Unlimited is available now in the U.S. It will arrive in Austria, Germany, and the U.K. later this year.
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