Amazon revealed a new incentive for Prime members today that may entice some users away from rival music services such as Apple Music or Spotify. The firm said that it would now provide Prime users a full music collection with 100 million songs, rather than the previously more limited selection of only 2 million songs, and that most of the best podcasts on its service will be ad-free. Furthermore, the Amazon Music app is being updated, with a new "Podcast Previews" feature that will allow consumers to listen to brief samples to find new podcasts they may enjoy.
The decision is a direct rebuke to streaming music competitors, particularly Spotify, which has been expanding into the podcasts sector in order to generate extra money. However, Spotify's paying subscribers are becoming dissatisfied with the fact that, despite paying for the service, they are still forced to listen to podcast advertisements. The retail giant thinks that Amazon Music's promise of ad-free podcasts as well as a comprehensive music collection would make it an appealing option.
Shows from CNN, NPR, The New York Times, and ESPN are among the ad-free podcasts.
Other ad-free shows include the Wondery podcast catalog, which includes "Dr. Death," "SmartLess," and "Even the Rich," as well as new Amazon Exclusive shows such as "MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark & Mysterious Stories;" "Suspect: Vanished in the Snow;" "COLD Season Three: The Search for Sheree;" "Killer Psyche Daily;" "I Hear Fear," narrated by Academy Award nominee actress Care The actress and entrepreneur Keke Palmer's (NOPE) Amazon Exclusive podcast series "Baby, this is Keke Palmer" also premieres today.
Amazon recognized in announcing the decision that Prime Music's relatively limited collection was no longer a key selling feature for consumers.
"When we initially launched Amazon Music for Prime members, we offered an ad-free repertoire of 2 million songs, which was entirely unique for music streaming at the time," said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music, in a statement announcing the debut. "We continue to innovate for our consumers, bringing even more entertainment to Prime members on top of the convenience and value they now have." "We can't wait for members to enjoy not just a much enlarged collection of music, but also the greatest selection of ad-free top podcasts available anywhere, at no additional cost to their subscription," he said.
In addition to service expansion and ad-free podcasts, the Amazon Music app will get a new appearance, most notably with the introduction of the new Podcasts Preview function. Customers may listen to a brief soundbite from a podcast episode to help them decide whether it's something they'd be interested in.
According to Amazon, Prime members will be able to access the whole music collection through the main Amazon Music app. The software also includes basic functions such as shuffle-playing any artist, album, or playlist, streaming customised playlists, downloading music for offline listening, and more.
Amazon Prime Unlimited, the company's previously larger music offering, is not going away. The subscription, which costs $8.99 per month or $89 per year, will provide consumers with on-demand access to all songs in HD (16-bit/44.1 kHz) and UHD 24-bit/44.1 to 192 kHz) quality across all platforms. Furthermore, this premium tier includes millions of songs in spatial audio format.
The changes come after Amazon raised the annual price of its Prime free shipping program from $119 to $139 earlier this year, raising concerns that Prime membership is becoming too expensive, especially given the current economic climate in which consumers are struggling with the cost of goods and gasoline. While Amazon has recently introduced additional perks, such as a Grubhub+ membership, a big music collection might be a greater selling factor if it allows users to cancel another music subscription and switch.