M+E Connections

Amazon finally introduced a full-blown standalone, on-demand music streaming service Oct. 12, going up against rivals that include Apple and Spotifty. Amazon already offered on-demand music as part of its Amazon Prime service, but there were only more than two million tunes offered with Prime, whereas Amazon says its new Amazon Music Unlimited service offers “tens of millions” of songs.

Paying a monthly fee has been one of the main hurdles keeping more consumers from subscribing to such music services. With Amazon Music Unlimited, the company probably hasn’t figured out a way to completely overcome that objection among some consumers.

But one thing that sets the new service apart from rival offerings is a variety of pricing options, with lower prices designed as a special incentive to existing Amazon customers and to also encourage more consumers to sign up for its $99-a-year Amazon Prime service and/or buy one of its devices that use its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven Alexa personal assistant platform.

Amazon is heavily touting $7.99-a-month pricing for Music Unlimited, $2 less than some rival services. But one must be an Amazon Prime member to get it for $7.99 a month, or the even lower $79-a-year offered, which works out to $6.58 a month. For non-Prime members, the new service costs $9.99 a month.

If a consumer owns an Alexa-powered Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap device that works via voice control, he or she can also opt to subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited for only $3.99 a month. But that price will only allow you to use the service on that specific device. If you decide to use the service on other devices – such as an Amazon Fire, Android or iOS device, or a computer or Sonos speaker, you’ll have to upgrade to a standard plan for the additional $4 a month for Prime members or $6 more a month for non-Prime members.

Amazon is offering another incentive to sign up for its new service: there’s a free 30-day trial being offered regardless of the price plan being selected.

An additional option — the “For Family” subscription plan — will be added later this year, allowing up to six family members simultaneous access to Amazon Music Unlimited for $14.99 a month or $149 a year, the company said.

Amazon Music Unlimited also will be available for customers in the U.K., Germany and Austria this year at an unspecified date.

The Amazon Music app, meanwhile, was redesigned with a new interface that the company said “emphasizes artist images and album art and puts music discovery and playback front and center.”

Key features of the app include “Home,” which showcases selections by Amazon Music editors to help customers stay up-to-date on music they like and what’s trending and popular; “Recommended,” where customers can find personalized music suggestions powered by Amazon’s recommendation technology; and “Now Playing,” where synchronized lyrics make it easy to follow along to songs.

The Amazon Music app is available on Fire, Android and iOS devices, as well as on computers.