Amazon has launched Amazon Music Unlimited, a new streaming service that directly competes with Spotify and Apple Music. Here's everything you need to know about the new service:

Pricing Structure:

• Non-Prime members: $9.99/month or $99/year
• Prime members: $7.99/month or $79/year
• Echo-only plan: $3.99/month (exclusive to Echo device owners)
• Family plan (coming soon): $14.99/month or $149/year

Key Features:

• Tens of millions of songs (significantly larger than Prime Music's 2 million)
• Curated playlists
• Radio stations
• Integrated lyrics
• Redesigned mobile app for iOS and Android

Echo Integration:

• Voice-activated music requests
• Personalized recommendations based on listening history
• Simple voice commands (e.g., "Alexa, play Adele's new song")
• Works with all Alexa-powered devices (Echo, Tap, Dot)

This service replaces the previous Prime Music offering, positioning Amazon as a serious competitor in the music streaming market. The Echo-only plan at $3.99 represents a strategic move to leverage Amazon's smart speaker ecosystem while undercutting competitors like Pandora Plus.

The service prioritizes paid subscriptions, suggesting potentially favorable per-stream payouts for artists. Amazon's ability to integrate music streaming with their broader ecosystem, particularly Echo devices, could help monetize casual music listeners who haven't previously subscribed to streaming services.

As of mid-2019, Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music combined reached 32 million subscribers with a 70% yearly growth rate, demonstrating significant market penetration and growth potential in the streaming industry.

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