Amazon unveils Music Unlimited service
October 13, 2016
As anticipated, Amazon is entering the music streaming sector to compete with iTunes and Spotify with the launch of Amazon Music Unlimited, an on-demand music service that Amazon says redefines music streaming by putting a catalogue of tens of millions of songs and thousands of hand-curated playlists and personalised stations not just at the tips of fingers, but also on the tip of the tongue. According to Amazon, the service makes discovering new music or listening to favourites easier and more fun than ever with a redesigned Amazon Music app as well as with innovative new Alexa voice controls.
“Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people who are already Prime members, with a choice of subscribing for only $7.99 a month or even $79 per year. Plus, customers are going to love Amazon Music’s all-new app for iOS, Android and desktop,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and CEO. “And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa for a free Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo. If you don’t know the name of a song but know a few lyrics, if you want to hear songs from a specific decade, or even if you’re looking for music to match your mood, just ask.”
Prime members now have more choice than ever when it comes to music streaming. Millions of Prime members already stream music on Amazon Prime every month, making Amazon Music one of the most popular music streaming services in the world. The Prime catalogue has grown to more than two million songs and over one thousand hand-curated playlists and personalised stations. Today, with the launch of Amazon Music Unlimited, Prime members who want even more music have access to a catalogue of tens of millions of songs and thousands of hand-curated playlists and personalised stations at a breakthrough Prime member price of $7.99/(€7.26) month or $79/year (which equals only $6.58/month).
Millions of customers have fallen in love with Alexa and have given Echo over 28,000 5-star reviews on Amazon. Since the debut of Echo nearly two years ago, music consistently has been one of the most popular activities on Echo; now Amazon Music has reimagined music listening on Echo with intuitive new Alexa voice controls that turn your Echo into the ultimate personalised jukebox. No searching or browsing required…just ask. And with the advanced machine learning of Alexa, the Amazon Music experience will become more conversational and personalised all the time.
Amazon is offering an exclusive ‘for Echo’ subscription plan for only $3.99/month, with full access to Amazon Music Unlimited on a single Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap.
The Amazon Music app has been redesigned with an interface that emphasises artist images and album art and puts music discovery and playback front and centre. Key features of the app include ‘Home’, which showcases selections by Amazon Music editors to help customers stay up-to-date on the music they love and what’s trending and popular; ‘Recommended’, where customers can find personalised music suggestions powered by Amazon’s recommendation technology; and ‘Now Playing’, where synchronised lyrics make it easy to follow along to your favourite music. The Amazon Music app is available on Fire devices, iOS, Android, Web, PC and Mac.
A new ‘For Family subscription plan will be coming during 2016, allowing up to six family members simultaneous access to Amazon Music Unlimited for $14.99/month or $149/year. Amazon Music Unlimited also will be available for customers in the UK, Germany and Austria during 2016.