Amazon Music, which has been rumored for a long time now, is finally here with an on demand music streamer being launched.
Amazon is launched the earlier Prime Music as Amazon Music Unlimited. It offers streaming Internet music and is a competition to other such music streaming services, such as Apple Music and Spotify as well as Google Play Music.
What’s Different?
Amazon Music has several features that lift it apart from the competition. However, the most noteworthy feature is the price. Amazon is offering the unlimited streaming music service to its prime members at a cost of $7.99 for a month or for $79 a year. This is certainly cheaper than the premium fees options charged by Apple Music or Spotify. In addition, Amazon Echo devices can receive the service at a lower cost of $3.99 for a month.
Details of Service
Amazon Music is similar to Spotify or Apple Music in many ways. There are catalogs of millions of songs. The company has a deal with all the major labels in addition to several indies. There are the usual algorithmic playlists and the hand made ones. It also offers apps for all the major operating systems, such as iOS and Android as well as for the desktop and Sonos. The typography has been totally redesigned for the Music apps of Amazon, with improved navigation and better artistic imagery. Users can automatically download the type of music that Amazon feels users will like. This will be useful for listening to music when offline. In addition, it offers integration of lyrics.
Integration with Echo Device and Alexa
As far as Spotify is concerned, the major advantage is its intelligent recommendations and music discovery. As for Apple Music, it offers several premium album exclusives. In case of Amazon, it offers excellent integration with the Echo device and with its Voice Assistant, Alexa. Owners of Echo can access discounted services, which is available for a single device at a time. They can also ask the device to play songs in different ways, by just using the voice. Alexa can pull up a specific artist, an album, a particular song or a playlist and also the latest song of an artist. The assistant is also capable of finding a song with the help of a lyric snipped. Users can string the requests together.
According to Amazon, the response and suggestion offered by Alexa can only improve with more people using its service.
Side-By-Side Feature
Amazon Music offers the Side-by-Side feature as well, pairing the commentary of the artist with the selected track from the catalog. The company has launched twelve such Side-by-Side features, including artists like Jason Aldean, Sting, One Republic, with many others in the pipeline.
Price the Main Attraction
The price of the service will probably be the biggest draw in case of Amazon Music Unlimited. The yearly plan is excellent and brings the monthly fee to around $6.58, which is much below the plans of the competing services. Amazon is also offering a family plan with six accounts at a fee of $14.99 a month and for $149 a year, by the end of this year, which matches the offerings of Apple and Spotify as well as Google Play Music.