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The summer of 1994 saw the creation of a company that has largely changed the way we shop, read, give gifts, and even view media. Amazon.com, founded by Jeff Bezos, started out as a mere resource for buying books. Based out of Seattle, Washington, the website filled orders for people in 50 states and 45 countries-all in its first 30 days of doing business! And today, it is run by more than 97,000 employees.
Needless to say, Amazon became popular fast. And it has only grown tremendously since then.
Over the years, Amazon has continued to cover more ground and in September 2007 began including music services, such as buying and downloading tracks. Music streaming, however, didn't become an Amazon service until June 2014.
In other words, Amazon streaming is very new but still very convenient for certain consumers.
If you have an Amazon Prime account, or if you're thinking of getting one, listen up. Prime Music, as they call it, is now available for all Amazon Prime members in the United States-at no additional cost to your membership!
The Good
If you already hold an Amazon Prime account, the awesome news is that you pay no additional fees to stream their music. As a member, you immediately have access to over one million tracks and hundreds of playlists. What's more, Amazon streaming is ad-free, which means there are no interruptions to your listening experience.
But that's not all.
You'd think that since Prime Music comes with no extra fees that it would come without many perks. On the contrary, you can:
- Handpick the songs you want to listen to (rather than being fed automatic tracks)
- Skip or repeat songs as often as you want
- Download tracks and listen to them offline without an Internet connection
- Create playlists of songs that you've downloaded
Not bad at all!
Amazon streaming also works with a wide variety of mediums, including Android, Windows, iOS, Roku, Sonos, and the Web. You can stream from devices like a Fire Phone, iPhone, iPad, Fire Tablet, Fire TV, Mac, PC, and even your car. They offer a free music app you can download too. But do be aware that Amazon apps work through the Amazon Cloud Player, which you'll have to download to use.
If you're unsure about Prime Music, you'll love the length of their free trial period. For one month, Amazon lets you preview what it's like to stream with them-in the hopes that you'll love what you experience and sign up for that Prime account.
The Bad
Probably the biggest downside to Prime Music is that you're required to have an Amazon Prime account in order to stream it. So even though there's technically no additional cost for streaming as a Prime member, you're also already paying the $99 fee per year (or $49 if you're a student) for the account. That means no free version is available in any sense of the term.
Prime Music is also currently available in only the United States. While Amazon ships products across many countries around the world, the site hasn't linked music streaming to other countries, so if you're traveling or moving out of the US, you'll no longer have access to it.
Furthermore, Amazon's music selection is pretty small compared to most competitors. One million songs sounds like a lot, but when other companies boasts 10, 20, or 30 million+ songs, Amazon's library starts to look like slim pickings. Along with this, they typically don't offer the most recent songs, so you can't expect to stream new releases through it.
Another obvious con for Amazon is the fact that they've only offered streaming since mid-2014. That's not very much time to work out software errors, add tracks to the music library, and rectify other issues that inevitably pop up in the first few months (or years) of opening up shop. And while some competitors have been streaming music for more than 10 years, Amazon is still quite young and inexperienced, at least in this department.
The Bottom Line
What makes Amazon music different is that it's directly linked to Amazon Prime, which has a very large customer base already. Unlike other streaming services, Prime Music is a service that comes with a membership that offers loads of other benefits, such as video streaming and discounts on mail orders. In this way, Amazon.com has set itself up to potentially gain a lot of streaming customers fast.
They also stand out because they take features like offline listening, unlimited skips, and on-demand listening and put them all into one streaming service.
What does this mean for you?
It means that if you're an Amazon Prime member, you're in luck. You'll automatically enjoy great streaming services, albeit with a smaller music library and a slightly lower bit rate (256 kbps). And if you're not a Prime member, here's just one more reason you might consider signing up. Essentially, Amazon has rewarded current Prime members, enticed music lovers to join, and set itself apart from the more accessible and less expensive competitors.
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User Reviews
Convenient, limitless options. Alexa and Amazon music make cleaning fun again. Subscription changes and overall billing is very convenient.
Way too expensive for what you get. Yes it is better than Pandora, but I think that Amazon Unlimited should be included in Amazon Prime. Prime gives you very very little music to choose from with very restrictive features that end up frustrating customers. We are considering a switch to Apple music which is slightly cheaper for a family plan.
I was purchasing music not realizing that it was all stored in this wonderful place. So user friendly and so many great features. I play my favorite playlist on the app to get my day going every morning! I love it!
We got amazon music this Christmas when we got our Alexa devices. The whole family loves it and we constantly have music playing. It is great having access to all the current music.
Easy to use and stream and build playlists, but expensive. I don't think it is good value for what you pay for the service. The comparability with Alexa is a great feature which is why we continue to use the service.
I got a free trial of amazon music unlimited for free with the purchase of my Alexa and I am so hooked. I love that I have access to all the new music and it is so easy to use! My kids really like it too.
I have used Amazon music before and have liked it. We have amazon prime and it was nice having it come with it. I do like that there are no ads. It is not as good as iTunes radio but there are still some good things about it. If I had to pay for it separately though I probably wouldn't purchase it .
Love Amazon Music! Expansive collection of all kinds of music. Easy to use app that gives you lots of options to choose from. Love being able to listen to radio (clean) versions of songs that I like as well.
We use this service frequently. Lots of music to listen to. Still a little quicky to use, but meets our needs.
Since Amazon Music is another benefit from having Amazon Prime, it is a great extra feature. For those who can't afford paying a subscription for other music services, this is a great option. The selection of music is a good size, but it definitely doesn't even compare to some of the other streaming services.
Amazon prime music is a great addition to what amazon has to offer. I enjoy being able to listen to music everywhere I go.
I really like amazon music. My husband and all my kids use it as well. They really like being able to listen to all different types of music. Its especially nice if there is a new song out that they want to listen to on repeat. Theres a lot of fun songs for kids on it as well. Fun to listen to it through Alexa.
Huge variety of music available. Easy to find and is very accessible. I think this is a great benefit from Amazon.
It has been a wonderful service and a great value. There is no shortage of selection and we play music throughout the home on our Alexa.
Amazon music is overall pretty good, but it can also be annoying if you don’t have unlimited because it doesn’t give you access to some music.
Probably my favorite way of streaming music is through Amazon Music. I love being able to create multiple playlists and have them shared between all the users onour account. Easy to learn how to use it and excellent choice or artists and songs to choose from.
We love Amazon music. There are songs that come with your prime membership that you don't have to buy. There is also music that you can choose to buy as well that isn't included in prime. Great Service!
My family of seven share amazon music and it is so convenient to have music on every device. We also have it on Alexa and it works great!
This is nice to put music on your phone so you can listen offline. Yet another perk of having an Amazon account
Amazon music is awesome, especially when you have an Alexa, she plays all the songs I request and more.
Amazon music has any song or genre that you can think of and they are cheap to use. They provide quality music with a happiness guaranty.
Amazon music has every single song you could ever imagined and it is such a dependable source for streaming music. It’s easy to make playlists and save your favorite songs.
I really like using amazon music. I use amazon for everything, so might as well use it for music too! I think they have good variety and the value is great for the price.
Amazon Music has a very large, wide rang of music. And, I love that you're able to connect with Alexa, I think that's a useful and unique feature.
Amazon music isn't my favorite music streaming service. I don't think it's as easy to use as others and the layout isn't the best.
Hundreds of thousands of songs to choose from, and you can make a playlist of your favorites. Amazon Music is definitely worth the big bucks.
i often listen to amazon music through my alexa. the selection is great and no commercials.
Got a free subscription from my job. Really good music library just not the best application to use
It's nice that Amazon music is included with prime membership, but it would be more convenient if music player was from same app as amazon shopping. having to use a separate amazon music app to play downloaded prime music seems counter intuitive.
amazon prime is really amazing it gives such a wide variety of every song and rarely has any connection issues. really the best way to get your music
I am an avid Amazon user. This is a little confusing site for me. Seems to be to many steps for use.
I'm not sure what I would do without Amazon Music! For the low monthly cost it gives you access to any and every song that you would ever want to listen to.
I liked using Amazon music but then some songs that I had "saved" were only available with "Unlimited Music", which you have to pay more for. Then, I checked again and some music was available again, but went back to Unlimited. Then, some songs I had downloaded to use offline still buffer and will stop mid-way for a long time. I just stopped using the service.
It's super easy to play streaming music from Amazon if you have an Echo. I just ask Alexa to play a certain playlist, and that's it. Yet another reason I love my Amazon Prime account. I love discovering music this way that I otherwise might not listen to.
We use the free music service that comes with Amazon prime and it has some good options. I wish it was more comprehensive and you could be more specific and that they would eventually brought in more choices.
Amazon prime does not have a lot of variety on their free version, you have to upgrade to get the full access. They have good kids stations as well as family stations. I like that I can put a setting that blocks out any explicit music.
You can find so many hits on this website it is crazy. I love how it transfers to any computer without having to individually look for the songs you want to listen to.
Amazon music is a great benefit to having amazon prime, but not really a prime seller. It remembers your preferences. It works hard so you don't have to! However, they don't always have the right labels on what is explicit or not.
Amazon Music has a great library of music to choose from, and the app is very easy to use. The music is high quality as well!
Amazon Music has never given me trouble! It has all the music that I've ever looked for, and navigating through the app is super easy.
It was easy to use, however, I did not like that one could not listen to every song. Some had to be purchased by upgrading your subscription, which was very frustrating.
Prime music is great. It comes with my Prime membership so I did not even have to pay extra. Cant complain about that.
I love Amazon Prime for music. What I like best is when I buy an actual CD from Amazon, in addition to getting the CD they also put an electronic version of the CD in my Amazon Music so I don't have to!
They offer a great service and is a good option to be able to use! Quick and easy plus they offer free music for 3 months if you purchase a cd.
I really like how much access Amazon Music has to the new songs that I hear on the radio!
I listen to my Amazon Music everyday. It's very easy to use and has tons of music!
I love being able to keep all my music in one place and with Prime I have access to listen to my favorite songs as often as I want.
This is one of the reasons I renew every year for my Prime membership. Love it. Love being able to download my playlist so I can listen offline. Great service.
Amazon's fully realized streaming music service provides an intriguing alternative to the many competing products on the marke
I have enjoyed Amazon Music, especially creating my own play list from their wide range of music. I love that it is ad free and downloadable to my device!! My one disappointment was when I had made a play list and loved that play list then one day certain artist on my playlist were no longer available. :(