At the beginning of 2019, Amazon started to offer ad-sponsored free music streaming app on the distinctive Alexa and Echo speakers. During its inception, Amazon began to provide stations and top playlists. By the looks of it, the free experience is hugely different from the on-demand selective music which people get with the membership of Amazon Prime.
However, things currently seem different as the free version of music-streaming service from Amazon is now available across multi-platforms. Amazon is taking the competition directly to the world’s popular music streaming service, Spotify. The day before, Amazon said that customers could easily listen to the ad-supported selection of over thousands of stations, and top-notch playlists without spending a penny.
Moreover, the service is available to the people residing across the UK, US, and Germany who do not have a prime membership. Also, people who haven’t subscribed to the unlimited pack of the app can easily download the app and start listening to free music.
The free version has a downside:
There is one crucial thing that the users have to understand regarding the free streaming app from Amazon. The users cannot directly playback any of the specific songs which are on-demand. Free Amazon Music, which supports ads, allows the users to have access to music through stations as well as playlists such as Pop Culture, All Hits, Country, Heat, Fuego Latino, Rap Rotation, All ‘80s, and Ultimate Classical.
On the other hand, the users who’d try to gain access to the specific songs, artists, or albums will see a pop-up for the subscription of Amazon Music Unlimited. In addition to this, the free version also has a distinct disadvantage that users cannot download songs that they can play while their phone is offline.
Back in April 2019, the notable e-commerce giant launched the free streaming version of Amazon Music across the U.S. for the users Alexa Voice Assistant. Currently, Amazon has launched the ad-supported version of the Amazon Music app on Android, iOS, and Fire TV. Also, people who stay hooked to their computers and laptops can listen to music via the Amazon Music web app.
Will Spotify lose its customers to Amazon?
Amazon’s announcement has prompted the stocks of Spotify to plummet. According to sources, the capital of Spotify came down to 4.9% this week on Monday. Technically, Spotify still has the upper hand with its free ad-supported version over Amazon Music. With Spotify free, users can easily create playlists, and they can also use Spotify on PCs and play music on-demand.
Amazon will continue offering the users access to more than 2 million songs to the Prime members. The Prime members do not have to give any additional charges. At the same time, the ad-free Amazon Music provides the users’ access to around 50 million songs and new releases.
The new users are in for a treat as Amazon offers four months subscription of Amazon Music Unlimited at 99 cents. Amazon Music usually costs around $7.99 per month and the annual subscription costs around $79. The non-prime members have to pay $9.99 every month.
Read More: Tech News.