Regardless of whether you grew up in the age of vinyl, CDs, or MP3s, streaming is the modern way to consume music. And while there are a lot of streaming services out there, only one gives Amazon Prime members access to 100 million tracks and the top podcasts available ad-free at no additional cost.
Prime has all your entertainment and streaming needs in a single membership—and that includes Amazon Music. Not a Prime member? Don’t fret: Amazon Music Unlimited gives you access to the complete catalog of about 100 million songs and podcasts, all ad-free. There’s also a free version of Amazon Music for everyone else, too.
Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon Music.
What is Amazon Music?
Amazon Music is a music streaming service. It delivers a library of more than 100 million songs, as well as a huge catalog of podcasts for streaming and offline listening. Exactly what your listening experience sounds like depends on the plan you choose. Amazon offers several tiers of service, and you can pick the one that suits your needs and budget.
What does Amazon Music cost?
There are three basic plans you can choose from.
- Amazon Music Prime. This is the version of Amazon Music that most Prime members are familiar with. Amazon Music Prime gives Prime members access to a massive catalog of 100 million songs, ad-free, at no additional cost to their membership, and the most top podcasts available ad-free. While you can download all-access playlists for offline listening, and pick and play any specific track within these playlists. Outside of these playlists, Prime members can enjoy a shuffle experience when listening to artists, albums, genres, among other content types.
- Amazon Music Unlimited. The Unlimited tier is available to everyone, Prime members and non-members alike. It gives you access to Amazon’s complete catalog of 100 million songs and podcasts, all ad-free. With this plan, you can pick and play any song, and you have unlimited skips when listening to stations. Music Unlimited also unlocks the service’s highest fidelity versions of tracks, in HD, Ultra HD, and Spatial Audio formats. As a Prime member, you can join Amazon Music Unlimited for $9.99/month for a monthly subscription or $99/year for an annual subscription. Non-Prime customers pay $10.99/month.
- Amazon Music with Ads. Not an Amazon Prime subscriber? You can still get Amazon Music for free. This plan gives you access to a catalog of 100 million ad-supported tracks. Free members can pick and play songs in their 15 all-access playlists. Outside of these playlists, Prime members can enjoy a shuffle experience when listening to artists, albums, genres, among other content types.
What is Amazon Music’s audio quality?
For Amazon Music Free and Amazon Music Prime subscribers, Amazon Music streams music at up to 320 kbps. But audiophiles can upgrade Amazon Music now offers the highest-quality streaming audio to our Unlimited customers, featuring an extensive, premium catalog of lossless sound, with more than 100 million songs in High Definition and Ultra High Definition, at a bit depth of up to 24 bits and a sample rate up to 192 kHz.
Customers can now hear all of their favorite songs and albums with every bit of detail as their original recording, combined with the convenience of streaming. Amazon Music Unlimited customers are also able to now experience spatial audio—an immersive, multi-dimensional audio format that puts you inside the music—on the Amazon Music app on even more devices, including with their existing headphones without special equipment required.
How can I listen to Amazon Music?
Amazon Music can go pretty much anywhere you want to listen to music. You can play Amazon Music in a browser on your computer or laptop using the Amazon Music web player, or install the desktop app for your Mac or PC.
On the go, you can use the mobile app for iOS and Android. And Amazon supports Amazon Music on a broad array of devices, like Sonos, Roku, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Amazon Echo Show.
In many cases, you can use Alexa’s voice commands to control Amazon Music. There’s an Alexa icon at the bottom of the mobile app, for example—tap it and give the app a command like “Alexa, play The Beatles.” In fact, Amazon Music is the default music player on Amazon devices with Alexa built in, like Amazon Echo speakers and Fire TV.
How do I navigate Amazon Music?
When you start to use Amazon Music, you can personalize your experience by selecting a handful of your favorite artists, which the service uses to curate songs you want to hear in its personalized playlists.
Regardless of how you get to Amazon Music—on the web or in an app—you have the same general set of controls. The home page lets you browse through curated music you can discover from contemporary and popular artists, as well as playlists based on your personal interests.
You can search for music and, if you are an Amazon Prime Unlimited user, pick and play specific songs. Otherwise, you can shuffle albums and artists, or add specific tracks to a playlist for shuffle play later. There’s also your Library, which stores playlists, saved podcasts, downloaded music, and other personal selections.
How do I join Amazon Prime?
Want to get the most out of Amazon Prime —or get Amazon Music Unlimited at a discounted price? You may want to consider joining Prime.
By joining, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the many other benefits of a Prime membership, including fast, free delivery, access to invite-only deals, and the option to Buy With Prime.
By joining, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the many other benefits of a Prime membership, including fast, free delivery, access to invite-only deals, and the option to Buy With Prime.
Prime is savings, convenience, and entertainment in one single membership. In the U.S., anyone can join Prime for $14.99 per month or $139 per year, or start a free 30-day trial if eligible. Additionally, college students can try Prime Student with a six-month trial, then just pay $7.49 per month, or $69 per year. Qualifying government assistance recipients can get Prime Access for $6.99 per month. Learn more about all Prime has to offer, including discounted memberships.
