Amazon Prime Music streaming service has been available for UK subscribers for six months now. In celebration of this milestone, the company has introduced a new radio service named Prime Stations. The Pandora-like ad-free internet radio features hundreds of stations across a range of genres, including 80s Pop, 90s Indie, and Instrumental Jazz. The digital tracks will adapt to user tastes, as users can rate songs by giving them a thumbs up or thumbs down to fine-tune the algorithm that generates the playlists.
The launch of Prime Stations is already proving a hit in the US, although Amazon has yet to reveal any figures for the number of Prime Music users in the UK. Paul Firth, Amazon UK’s head of music, has reportedly stated that there are “millions” of Prime customers in the UK, and the music service’s month-on-month growth has been expanding “at a faster rate than expected.”
Amazon Prime Music is part of the Amazon Prime bundle, which comes alongside Amazon’s Prime Instant Video. The bundled pricing strategy could be a way to sway music consumers from the likes of Spotify, especially since Prime is cheaper than the annual cost of a Spotify subscription. However, Firth insists Prime Music is “not in competition with Apple or Spotify” as it does not target hardcore music fans and is based on a different financial model.
Prime Music has also launched in Germany and Japan, alongside the UK and the US, making it available in four of the world’s largest music markets. Pandora, on the other hand, is only available in the US. It’s interesting to see Amazon expanding its music service across the globe and offering radio features before Pandora.
Amazon’s new radio service allows users to curate their own stations by selecting their favourite songs or artists. Users can also choose from the pre-made stations based on their favourite genres. The radio service is ad-free, and the digital tracks will adapt to user tastes based on their preferences. The company claims it has hundreds of stations available across a range of genres, including pop, rock, classical, and more.
The radio service is a great addition to Amazon’s music streaming service, which already offers unlimited ad-free streaming of over two million songs. Amazon Prime Music also allows users to download tracks to their devices so they can listen to music offline. The service has a vast library of music, including some exclusive tracks, and it’s continually expanding.
Amazon Prime Music’s bundled pricing strategy offers users access to a lot of media perks, including video streaming, photo storage, and a fast-growing music service. An Amazon Prime membership costs £79 per annum ($99 in the US), which is cheaper than the annual cost of a Spotify subscription.
In conclusion, Amazon Prime Music has made significant progress in the last six months since it launched in the UK. The addition of Prime Stations radio service is excellent news for UK subscribers, and it’s impressive that Amazon has expanded its music service across the globe and offers radio features before Pandora. The bundled pricing strategy is also an attractive proposition for consumers, and it will be interesting to see how it competes with other music streaming services.