Today, Amazon Music revealed a new perk for its Prime customers that may tempt some users away from competing services like Apple Music or Spotify. Amazon Music’s entire library is now free for Prime Subscribers. The firm announced that it will now provide Prime users with a complete music catalogue with 100 million songs, as opposed to the earlier, more constrained selection of just 2 million songs, and will make the majority of the most popular podcasts on its site available without commercials. Additionally, the Amazon Music app is getting a makeover, and a new Podcast Previews” feature will enable users to listen to brief excerpts in order to find new podcasts they might enjoy.
The platform’s mid-tier users used to enjoy unlimited skips and ad-free access to 2 million songs, but that access has since been expanded to the whole repertoire of more than 100 million songs. For Prime subscribers podcasts from publications including The New York Times, CNN, Barstool, and Amazon Music will be ad-free. “We can’t wait for members to experience not only a massively expanded catalog of songs, but also the largest selection of ad-free top podcasts anywhere, at no additional cost to their membership,” said Amazon Music vice president Steve Boom.
The initiative is a clear jab at rivals in the streaming music industry, particularly Spotify, which has been entering the podcast sector in an effort to increase revenue. However, despite paying for the service, Spotify’s paying subscribers are growing impatient with the fact that they still have to listen to podcast advertisements. The retail behemoth believes that the combination of a full music catalogue and the promise of ad-free podcasts from Amazon Music will make for a potent substitute.
Access is the main factor in the different tiers. The whole Amazon Music library will be accessible to all Prime members, but not entirely on demand; you can shuffle any artist, album, or playlist, according to Amazon, but you can’t simply choose a song and press play. You will need an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, which costs $9 per month, to do that and to play music in better definition or with spatial audio.
Podcast Previews by Amazon Music
Additionally, Amazon is focusing on podcast discovery. A brand-new function known as Podcast Previews, which resembles episode previews for podcasts, is currently being rolled out. Before choosing to watch an episode, you will be able to listen to a brief soundbite, which according to Amazon could aid in search. Although the functionality is now only available for a small number of podcasts, Amazon claims it offers a tailored experience depending on your listening habits.
If they are successful, podcast previews could be a significant step toward improved detection. They would also provide Amazon with something unique in the realm of podcasts. “We continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and to bring even more entertainment to Prime members, on top of the convenience and value they already enjoy. We can’t wait for members to experience a massively expanded catalogue of songs and the largest selection of ad-free top podcasts anywhere, at no additional cost to their membership,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music.
According to Amazon, Prime subscribers can access the whole music library using the main Amazon Music app. Additionally, the app has basic functionality like shuffle play for any artist, album, or playlist, personalised playlist streaming, offline music downloads, and more. Even though Prime subscribers can’t access music on-demand without upgrading to the premium tier, the bigger selection might be appealing to less serious music fans who prefer a more laid-back listening experience.
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