And the introductory streaming price war continues.
What’s the price of a lifetime subscriber?
Welcome to the high-stakes game being played by Amazon, Apple, Spotify, Google, and every other streaming platform hoping to lure consumers into lengthy, long-term accounts. Of course, Amazon is one of the well-endowed behemoths that can subsidize big upfront discounts, especially for college students who will someday be armed with disposable cash.
Accordingly, on August 6th, Amazon announced a new Prime benefit for students, just as they’re gearing up for the new school year. Any student with a Prime Student membership, whether it be current or new, can subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited for an additional $0.99 per month.
Furthermore, students can receive a free 6-month trial of Prime Student, after which they will pay only $6.49 per month.
Amazon Music Unlimited provides access to the company’s catalog of more than 50 million songs, along with many thousands of curated playlists and stations. That’s mostly comparable to rival platforms like Spotify and Apple, though students can also discover new music through Alexa-enabled speakers.
And of course, all this is in addition to the standard Prime benefits, such as free shipping on merchandise and Prime Video.
Amazon Music Unlimited normally costs $9.99 per month for those who are not members of Prime. Prime members normally pay $7.99 per month. Amazon’s offer can be seen as part of the ongoing price war between major streaming platforms to build subscriber bases, whose long-term value far exceeds the amount of revenue (and profit) generated in the short-term.
However, even with the discount, the deal is still more expensive for students than Spotify and Apple Music, assuming a person is only interested in music streaming.
After the 6-month trial of Prime Student expires, Music Unlimited will cost students $7.48 per month in total. Both Spotify and Apple offer unlimited music streaming services to students for $5 per month. Spotify’s plan also includes access to both Hulu and Showtime.