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Amazon is working on a $5-a-month music subscription service that will be exclusive to owners of the company's internet-connected Echo speaker.
According to Recode, Amazon is planning to introduce the service in September alongside another music streaming service that costs $10 a month, to compete more directly with the likes of Apple Music and Spotify.
Industry sources say the company has yet to finalize deals with major music labels and publishers. One sticking point is reported to be whether Amazon sells the cheaper Echo-only service for $4 or $5 a month.
The $10-a-month service is said to replicate features common to the streaming market, such as unlimited, ad-free playback and an option to download music for offline listening. The company already offers Amazon Music as part of its Amazon Prime subscription package, but the music catalog is limited compared to streaming services like Tidal and Google Play Music.
The $5-a-month service would be different to discounted subscription models that other companies have tried in the past. Not only will the $5 service be restricted to Echo owners, it won't be available to use on smartphones, which is what most users of existing streaming services sign up for.
Amazon started shipping the Echo last year and reportedly sold a million units. The company is aiming to sell three million more this year and 10 million in 2017, according to The Information.
Top Rated Comments
Uh, no thanks Amazon. I love you very much, but not in your streaming music department.
I think the new service is going to have a full catalogue of music so it can compete with Apple Music and Spotify.With such a limited catalog I cannot see how this will be a successful venture for them. I tried to replicate a playlist of mine from Spotify to Amazon Music and found after 2 songs I already had to buy the other songs from Amazon because it wasn't in their Prime music service. Instead I turned to Google Play Music and their 4 month free trial offer and was able to replicate my Spotify playlists there without missing any songs.
I have Prime and an Amazon Echo and use Amazon Music all the time, so I am very familiar with what is available. For me anyway, it is pretty rare they don't have what I want. I suppose it depends on what kind of music you listen to.
Yes, and the software used to find the songs. A million songs, 2.5 minutes average, played sequentially for 8 hours a day, would take around 15 years to listen too. The more songs, the bigger the pie to divide, the easier it is to keep it interesting. This concept also points out the issue of software curation, also helped buy having more songs. I like you are OK so far with the million songs. Maybe we have a wider genres acceptance, and thus are only in the first 5 years.:)Why even try it?
I myself have no intention of trying it. I've moved on from Spotify to Google Play Music and couldn't be happier since I'm getting the same thing I had on Spotify plus YouTube Red and 4 months of it free.I do agree with you though, Amazon probably should stick to what they're already doing very well and that is their Prime delivery service and fantastic customer service.
Coming soon, Amazon Milk.
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Well, I am still waiting for Fleetwood Mac to get back together it that tells you anything. :DYou'd be surprised what that "million song library" is comprised of. Most of the time I request a song, it's not in the library and just doing a scan of what's available is slim pickings.
I have Prime and an Amazon Echo and use Amazon Music all the time, so I am very familiar with what is available. For me anyway, it is pretty rare they don't have what I want. I suppose it depends on what kind of music you listen to.