Amazon joins music wars with new streaming service

AFP, NEW YORK: Online giant Amazon entered the streaming music wars Wednesday, taking on rivals like Spotify and Apple with a subscription service that offers discounts to those using its voice-controlled speakers.
Amazon Music Unlimited will offer “tens of m­illions of songs” to subscribers, the company said, a step up from the two million available on its existing Amazon Prime streaming service.
The new service costs $9.99 a month for US customers—the same as rivals Spotify Premium, Apple Music and Google Play—but Amazon is offering a discounted rate of $3.99 for subscribers who limit use to its Echo, Dot or Tap speakers.
Current Prime customers can get the new service for $7.99 a month or $79 a year, Amazon said.
The new service is available to US customers, and will launch later this year in Britain, Germany and Austria, the company said in a statement.
“Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people who are already Prime members,” said Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos.
“And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa (Amazon’s digital personal assistant) for a free Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo,” 
Bezos said.
“If you don’t know the name of a song but know a few lyrics, if you want to hear songs from a specific decade, or even if you’re looking for music to match your mood, just ask.”
 Rayburn, a Frost & Sullivan analyst who follows streaming media, said the new service offers “a nice tie-in to Amazon’s Echo, something that the other services don’t have.”

Amazon joins music wars with new streaming service

AFP, NEW YORK: Online giant Amazon entered the streaming music wars Wednesday, taking on rivals like Spotify and Apple with a subscription service that offers discounts to those using its voice-controlled speakers. Amazon Music Unlimited will offer tens of millions of songs to subscribers, the company said, a step up from the two million available on its existing Amazon Prime streaming service. The new service costs $9.99 a month for US customersthe same as rivals Spotify Premium, Apple Music and Google Playbut Amazon is offering a discounted rate of $3.99 for subscribers who limit use to its Echo, Dot or Tap speakers. Current Prime customers can get the new service for $7.99 a month or $79 a year, Amazon said. The new service is available to US customers, and will launch later this year in Britain, Germany and Austria, the company said in a statement. Amazon Music Unlimited brings real value to the millions of people who are already Prime members, said Amazon founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos. And if you want a sense of the future of voice-controlled music, go ahead and ask Alexa (Amazons digital personal assistant) for a free Music Unlimited trial, and play around on your Echo, Bezos said. If you dont know the name of a song but know a few lyrics, if you want to hear songs from a specific decade, or even if youre looking for music to match your mood, just ask. Rayburn, a Frost Sullivan analyst who follows streaming media, said the new service offers a nice tie-in to Amazons Echo, something that the other services dont have.