In a war to win the streaming music market Amazon launched it’s new on-demand music service, Amazon Music Unlimited yesterday, with the aim of competing against the growing industry giants Apple Music and Spotify. The new on-demand music service is said to have “tens of millions of songs and thousands of hand-curated playlists and personalized stations not just at the tips of your fingers ..” according to Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.
“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 Bezos. “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.”
Non-Prime members will be charged $9.99 a month, with Amazon planning to have a family plan available later this year for $14.99 a month or $149 a year for up to six devices. Music Unlimited will allow listeners to stream music across a number of devices including PCs, Macs, iOS and Android devices, Sonos and Amazon’s own products (Echo, Echo Dot).
For those who own an Echo, Amazon will be offering a subscription plan for $3.99, but it will be limited to that one device. Music Unlimited can also engage the user through Alexa. Users have the ability to request songs from a specific artist, or if they are unsure of a song name, can have the Echo give them the information. Songs can also be requested by “mood” or lyrics, so singing along is a definitely option.
MERRY JANE readers who want to try Amazon’s Music Unlimited can try it now with a free 30-day trial through their website.
