Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends
As a notable contender in themusic streaming landscapealongside Spotify and Apple Music , Amazon Music boasts an impressive library of over 100 million songs , complemented by a diverse array of podcasts .
With a multifariousness of program available — from a free ad - plump for option , a version for those with anAmazon Prime membershipto the premium Amazon Music Unlimited , which now offer entree to audiobooks — users can savour exceptional features such as lossless HD and Ultra HD sound recording quality , immersive Dolby Atmos Music , and unseamed desegregation with Alexa .
Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends
Whether you are an audiophile look for ranking sound lineament or a casual listener seeking ease of use , Amazon Music provide offer provide to a wide kitchen range of preferences . Explore Modern artists , curated playlists , and personalized recommendations within an nonrational and user - favorable interface .
What is Amazon Music?
Amazon Music is a music streaming service exchangeable to Apple Music , Spotify , YouTube Music , Tidal , and Deezer . It offers a library ofmore than 100 million songsand a wide range of popular podcasts to rain cats and dogs and download for offline listening , too . Similarly to its competitors , Amazon Music user have access to a massive amount of current and back - catalog songs and albums and can make their own playlists that can be shared . It alsouses your listening habits to create recommendations : Modern artists , albums , curated playlists , podcasts , and more , to assist you easily incur something good to play . For the audiophiles out there , Amazon Music has programme grade for Hawaii - resolution lossless audio that it callsHD and Ultra HD(more on this below ) , which is important if you ’re considering Spotify , as itcurrently does not .
The political platform ’s interface and controls are easy to expend and full of album art and visuals ( taking more than a few cues from Spotify ) and can be access in a act of ways , includingiOSandAndroidapps , desktop apps for Mac and Windows , and web browsers , as well as Echo and Fire video gadget . Additionally , Amazon Music work with Alexa vox control , allowing you to do things like omission tracks , interruption , or ask it to play something , all with voice commands .
What plans are available and what do you get?
Amazon MusicFree
If you ’re looking for the entry - level experience to get your feet wet , its most canonical programme is the advertising - support Amazon Music Free , for which you do not postulate to have an Amazon Prime subscription to use . The marginal - bones tier is a piece modified ( as most ad - base , free service are ) , giving you access to “ millions of podcast episodes , ” and thousands of playlists and stations with advert popping in between song .
Perhaps most annoying for most the great unwashed is the fact that playback is limited to only scuffle — mean you ca n’t pick out any song you desire to play — and Sung are not available in the lossless HD or Ultra HD formatting . All you need is a stock Amazon account , and you do n’t even need to hand over your acknowledgment card information .
Amazon Music Prime
If you ca n’t stick out the ads of the costless tier , and you ’re already an Amazon Prime ratifier ( or are reckon of becoming one ) , Amazon Music Prime is free . Not only do you get all the perks of an Amazon Prime bill like same - day shipping and Prime Video , but the music situation also opens up with advert - free admission to the intact 100 - million song library , podcasts , stations , and playlist . Downloads are also made available at this level , too , which is just because this tier only allows for playback on one twist at a clock time , too , unless you ’re playing download medicine that ’s stored on your gimmick .
It does n’t come without oddity , though . While you do get admission to that expand library ( the same 100 million songs as the Unlimited tier , actually ) , playback of albums , artist , and playlists is still limited to shuffle mode , with the exclusion of the “ All - Access Playlists , ” which you’re able to pick , play , skip , and download at will . Things get even more specific for Echo devices ( even the All - Access Playlists are in make mode ) , Fire television ( there ’s euphony , but no podcasts ) , and Fire Tablet ( where the catalog is limited and there are no ad - spare podcasts ) , and you also do n’t get access to all that HD , Ultra HD , and spacial audio goodness , either . All that said , you may just require to consider …
Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon Music Unlimitedis the full experience . It ’s fundamentally everything that the Amazon Music Prime program offers with no pesky shamble or limit on what you’re able to and can not play ; just have at it . But I ’ve buried the lede here — Amazon Music Unlimited is all about the sound quality . A hundred million songs are usable in lossless HD format ( that ’s candela - quality 16 - bit/44.1kHz , with an average bitrate of 850kbps ) , and an unrevealed “ 1000000 ” of track in their top - tier Ultra HD quality range of mountains ( 24 - bite depth and sample distribution charge per unit ranging from 44.1 to 192kHz and an average bitrate 3,730kbps ) .
These hi - resolution tracks use the FLAC audio codec and the auditory sensation is watch glass cleared and stunning , match the sound quality of competitors like Tidal ( which also employ FLAC ) and Apple Music ( which use the comparable Apple ALAC codec ) . There are also more than a thousand track master inDolby Atmos Musicand 360 Reality Audio , should you want to space out with some immersive environs sound . euphony Unlimited itself has a range of design option ( outlined below ) that have a few limitations , but for the most part , it ’s a robust music streaming architectural plan worthy of consideration .
InNovember of 2024 , Amazon announce a game - changing move : it would addAudible ’s catalogof over a million audiobooks to its Amazon Music Unlimited subscription .
Features and discovery
The Amazon Music user interface is leisurely to navigate , and well organise — regular Spotify users will feel mighty at home apace . For the most part , there are not many differences between the smartphone and desktop apps , or the web player , for that affair , make believe the experience more or less consistent across them all . The one affair you will notice missing from the desktop and web actor experience , however , is the Alexa button at the bottom of the smartphone app that you could weigh to look for and control playback with voice commands . you could also activate this when the app is open with the “ Alexa ” summon command .
The Home pageboy is the first affair you see when launching the Robert William Service , putting tabs for your music , podcasts , search function , and library up top ( background ) and along the bottom ( smartphone ) . The scrolling filmdom is a dense combination of your frequently dally content and a ton of suggestions for discovery — artists , stations , Top Playlists and Top Songs for what ’s current , new releases , musical genre , exclusive podcasts , and more — making it easy to find something you care . If you ’re in a pinch and just need to cursorily put something on that you ’ll wish , My Soundtrack is an mechanically - created radio station play list that ’s based on your listening habits and the artist and cartroad you ’ve like . My Discovery Mix is also based on your riding habit but serves up a playlist of new music that ’s refreshed every Monday .
The Library is where your saved albums , songs , playlist , followed podcast episodes , downloaded medicine , and more reside , and can be permeate as you see primed .
Like most music streaming apps , the playback bar is minimized along the bottom of the screen , and when expanded it brings up record album graphics , lead / album information , playback controls , and even a bold yellow icon telling you the track ’s timbre : SD , HD , or Ultra HD . One cool feature is that when you pink this ikon , a windowpane pop out up showing you the track quality from Amazon Music , the digital - to - analog ( DAC ) transition capability of your equipment ( like your iPhone or calculator ) , and the production quality ( like from the iPhone ’s speaker or a Seth of Bluetooth phone ) . This selective information tells you precisely the calibre you ’re commence from the files along the whole playback mountain range — just because the file is UHD at 24 - bit/96kHz , your twist may only be up to of decipher it at 24 - bit/44.1kHz . Additionally , if you filch mightily there ’s another screen that shows details on any Dolby Atmos tracks you ’re listen to , as well ( epitome and more on this below ) .
Sharing options , lyric , and connectivity feature for Wi - Fi meshing utterer , Bluetooth , and AirPlay speakers are also easily accessible from the playback window , and there ’s even a fun feature visit “ X - Ray ” that doles out factoids and info on what you ’re listening to , as well as other cognitive content prompting .
How much is Amazon Music?
In typical Amazon manner , there are several plans that you could get into , including the advertizement - found Amazon Music Free , the advertizement - free Amazon Music Prime that , likeAmazon Prime Video , you get liberal if you ’re an Amazon Prime member , and the top - tier Amazon Music Unlimited , which you could pay off a premium for on top of your Amazon Prime membership or get a la carte du jour . Here ’s how it breaks down :
Amazon Music Free : liberal , no Amazon Prime subscription is expect , but the creation of an account is required .
Amazon Music Prime : Included free with an Amazon Prime Membership , which currently run for $ 15 per month or $ 139 per twelvemonth . Students , however , can get in on a 6 - calendar month free tribulation and then $ 69 per year after that ( new member only ) , which also gives you access to Prime Video , Prime Gaming , and more .
Amazon Music Unlimited : This is the top of the heap , and it offers several subscription options . As of January 30 , 2025,Amazon announced a price increaseto its soul and category Music Unlimited plans ( its first since 2023 ) , that will take effect on or after March 5 , 2025 , and affects client in the U.S. , Canada , and the U.K. They are reflected below .
How do I listen to Amazon Music?
Amazon euphony can be played back through the Amazon Music screen background app for microcomputer and Mac , on iOS and Android devices , and a all-embracing range of other devices include Amazon Echo and Fire TV equipment , Sonos systems , and Roku media streamer . Outside of the apps , you’re able to get at the player through a connection web browser , too . you may also reach the app in some cars through Android Auto or Apple CarPlay .
Amazon Music ’s spatial audio trail can be experienced throughDolby Atmos - able devices , such as soundbars , headphones , border audio systems , iOS and Android devices , and theAmazon Echo Studiospeaker . Amazon Music also supports Dolby Atmos Music on theSonos Era 300 .
To experience the full extent of some of the highest - resolving power Ultra HD tracks , you may require an extraneous digital - to - analog convertor ( DAC),which you may learn all about in our explainer .
One feature of speech some might miss with Amazon Music is a native , build - in equalizer in the app that many Apple Music and Spotify users will be intimate with . woefully , you wo n’t be able to boost the bass or treble of a pair of not - so - great speaker , but manymodern headphonescome with apps that let you do this ( and probably do a better job as well ) , and your car and menage stereos will likely have EQ features as well . Rest assured the lineament of the HD and Ultra HD lead on Amazon Unlimited is top - pass and properly balanced , so you might not even lack it .
