Amazon’s new streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited, is now available in the UK, having been rolled out in the US last month.
With its new launch, Amazon is looking to go head-to-head with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal in the streaming market, boasting a catalogue of over 40 million songs and, most interestingly, a potentially game-changing price point.
While Apple Music and Tidal have looked to exclusive releases and content to chip away at Spotify’s market dominance, neither have been able to break away from the industry-standard £9.99 per month subscription fee. With Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime members will be able to sign up to the service for just £7.99 per month, while those content with listening to music in the home can enjoy the service through an Amazon Echo speaker for just £3.99 per month.
Another key feature of Amazon Music Unlimited is Alexa – its voice control function that allows customer with an Echo speaker to control everything from song selection, volume control, playlists and a whole host more by simply talking to the speaker.
Users can ask Alexa to identify a song by saying some of its lyrics out loud, while, if you’re looking for music of a particular mood, you can ask, Alexa, play ‘90s indie, and it’ll immediately play a popular song from the genre and period stated. You can even order taxis and takeaways using the service.
With Alexa, customers can also listen to the Side By Side feature, whereby asking, for example, Alexa, play Sting Side By Side, Sting will then offer a commentary either his latest album/single. Side By Sides are currently available from Emeli Sandé, The Chainsmokers, Sting, Two Door Cinema Club, Madness, Norah Jones, The Shires and Michael Buble, with more being added.
“We’ve been thrilled with customer reaction to the launch of Amazon Music Unlimited in the US last month and we’re excited to quickly bring the service to customers in the UK,” said Steve Boom, VP Amazon Music. “Starting today, Amazon Music Unlimited offers our UK customers playlists and stations curated by our music experts in the UK, featuring leading British and international artists – we think customers are going to love it.”
“Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people in the UK who are already Prime members, with a choice of subscribing for only £7.99 a month or even £79 per year,” added Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa for a free Amazon Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo. If you don’t know the name of a song but know a few lyrics, if you want to hear songs from a specific decade, or even if you’re looking for music to match your mood, just ask. Our U.S. customers love Amazon Music Unlimited on Echo, and we think our UK customers will too.”
