Music streaming is all the rage these days. With Spotify, for example, you get a lot of value as a free user. Everything you need to know about the new Spotify Everything you need to know about the new Spotify Spotify is no longer just a music streaming service. At an event in New York, Spotify launched a host of new features, including video streaming, in a bid to become an entertainment hub for users. Read More Spotify Music Streaming:The Unofficial Guide. Spotify Music Streaming:the unofficial. Spotify is the biggest music streaming service out there. If you're not sure how to use it, this guide will walk you through the service and offer some crucial tips. Read More But there is one service that tends to get left out when streaming music is discussed:Amazon Prime Music. .
It launched in 2014 to lackluster reception, mainly because it lacked some of the awesome features of all the other streaming services. However, if you've never given Prime Music a try, there are several compelling reasons why you should at least consider it.
So let's take a look. Maybe you're confident that your current music streaming service of choice is actually the right service for you, or maybe you realize the exact opposite. Either way, Prime Music deserves a lot more credit than it's currently getting! Read on to find out why.
There's only one way to get Prime Music, and that's through an Amazon Prime subscription, which in the US is $99 for the whole year . On a per month basis, that's the equivalent of an $8.25 subscription, which is unbelievably cheap compared to its competitors.
In fact, its three main adversaries - Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music All Access - are priced the same at $10 per month. Regardless of which alternative you choose, Prime Music will always be the cheapest option. It is the difference between $99 each year or $120 each year, which is a small but not insignificant expense How to reduce your household expenses in 7 easy steps How to reduce your household expenses in 7 easy steps and expenses? You're not alone We show you some of the best ways to reduce your household expenses. Read more.
If you're a student, you can save even more with Amazon Prime Student, which comes with a six-month free trial and 50% off when the trial ends. Meanwhile, Spotify and Google Play Music have one-month free trials and Apple Music has a three-month free trial. Of the three, only Spotify has a special discount for students.
The real kicker here is that nearly half of American households already have Amazon Prime . That means, for all intents and purposes, Prime Music is completely free if you're already a Prime member. This could be the difference between spending $99 per year for Prime Music or $99 + $120 per year for Prime and another music streaming service.
Prime Music was the last big player to join the game, so the developers had plenty of time to "steal" and implement all the features that make services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music as useful as they are. /P>
But before we get into that, let's take a look at the different interfaces. As of now, Prime Music can be accessed through a web player, desktop player, and mobile apps on both Android and iOS.
Coming from Spotify, as I personally did, Prime Music's web player definitely feels... different. Its design is more minimalist and direct than other web players, which makes it a bit boring at first glance, but it is very practical and works well. That's ultimately what matters, right?
As I use it more, I like the aesthetic of Prime Music more. It's surprisingly easy to navigate, and no matter what you want to do, it's never just a few clicks away. The same cannot be said for most other web players.
Just like the web player, the Prime Music desktop player is really good when it comes to ease of use. In some ways, it feels like a mobile app that's suitably adapted for desktop use:simplistic, tabbed, and plenty of room to breathe. Navigation is easy, nothing is too cluttered, and it even has a smooth dark theme that's easy on the eyes.
I tend to prefer web players for music, but in this case, I prefer the desktop player because it has better performance. The difference might not be noticeable on a new computer with solid specs, but even on a run-of-the-mill laptop like mine, Prime Music is smooth, responsive, and lovely.
I have nothing bad to say about the mobile app for Prime Music. It's fast, clean and intuitive enough to navigate without any frustration. And what really impresses me is the app size of 13 MB, which is very small compared to the usual size of music player mobile apps.
As for the service itself, Prime Music maintains a collection of approximately 1 million songs which can be streamed on demand. This is below the industry average of 15 million songs, and well below the 30 million songs available on services like Spotify and Tidal. But still, it's not as bad as it seems..
For example, Spotify and Tidal are available in most countries in the Americas, Western Europe, and Oceania, meaning many of their songs are foreign to US audiences. Meanwhile, Prime Music primarily targets audiences in the United States, so it doesn't feature much foreign music. The selection is Little one, no one can deny that, but it is above all relevant.
You can organize Prime Music songs into your own playlists, or you can listen to the hundreds of Expertly curated Top Playlists Designed around moods and activities like Relax, Travel, Study &Read, Party, Energetic and more.
Play offline - The ability to download songs to your mobile device and listen even when you're not connected to the internet is one of the most popular features to come out in the last five years, so it's good to know that Prime Music has it too. (Because of digital rights management What is DRM and why does it exist if it's so bad? [MakeUseOf explains] What is DRM and why does it exist if it's so bad? [MakeUseOf explains] Digital Rights Management is the latest evolution of copy protection Is the number one cause of user frustration today, but is it justified? Is DRM a necessary evil in this digital age, or is it the model?... Learn more (only songs can be accessed downloaded with the Prime Music app).
And then there are Major Stations , which are online radio stations with no ads and unlimited skips for your convenience. The more you listen to and rate songs, the more personalized these stations will become for you, which will sound familiar if you've ever used a service like Pandora.
As for audio quality , songs can be delivered at bit rates between 48 Kbps and 320 Kbps, which is potentially higher than the standard average of 256 Kbps. In each Prime Music player, you can choose from four settings:
As you can see, despite Prime Music's smaller selection of songs, it holds up well when all other features are taken into account. If you can get past the relatively limited selection, Prime Music is pretty good.
One of the great weaknesses of most streaming music services is that if a song isn't in your selections, you're out of luck as a listener. We all felt this on Spotify when Taylor Swift held back her latest album. Why Taylor Swift is wrong about Spotify. Why Taylor Swift is wrong about Spotify. Discussion on music streaming services. Read More it's a sensible decision that's bad for her, her fans and her record label. Read More
Prime Music offers an easy solution:if a song or album is missing and you have a copy, just upload to your account .
Prime Music is built on top of Amazon Music, formerly known as Amazon MP3, which was an online music locker (basically a cloud where you can store your own MP3s). This integration makes a lot of sense because now you can use one app to stream both Prime Music and your own music library.
And because music files are uploaded to Amazon, your music stays in sync across all of your Prime Music apps, including the web player, desktop player, and mobile apps. How many music files can you upload? Only 250 songs, but that limit can be expanded to 250,000 songs for just $25 per year.
Or you can just buy songs and albums directly from Amazon. These are added to your Prime Music account and Do not count towards your upload limit . Since Prime Music is "free" for most people (those who already have Amazon Prime), this really isn't that unreasonable.
And yes, as you can see above, you can buy music from whatever player you're using, including mobile apps.
Prime Music is “The only music streaming service with free two-day shipping,” a statement that seems strange and funny at first, but when you think about it, it really proves why everyone should at least consider giving it a try. - Amazon Prime is an Incredible Value 10 Amazing Amazon Prime Benefits You May Have Overlooked 10 Amazing Amazon Prime Benefits You May Have Overlooked Free two-day shipping is just the beginning. Here are some notable Amazon Prime benefits you may have forgotten about or never even realized existed. Read more .
If you already have an Amazon Prime account, you already have access to everything below. But if you've always avoided Prime Music because you thought it wasn't worth it, consider all these extra benefits you get along with your subscription:
Some of these benefits may not be available if you are using an Amazon Prime Student account. However, it's amazing what you actually get on top of Prime Music, and all for a price that's Less than music-only alternatives.
We understand that Prime Music is not the right choice for everyone. However, we are Convinced that Prime Music is a fantastic option for many people, even for some who consider themselves fans of other similar services.
Anyone who has Amazon Prime should check out Prime Music right away, and anyone who doesn't should sign up for the free trial. The only real drawback is the smaller music selection, but if you can live with that, the lower price and added benefits are strong reasons to switch.
If this post has only solidified your love of Spotify, Apple Music, or even Tidal, no problem! Just Make Sure You're Not Using Spotify Wrong 4 Ways You're Using Spotify Wrong Without Even Knowing It 4 Ways You're Using Spotify Wrong Without Even Knowing It Lots of people use Spotify. But are you using it efficiently? Discover 4 common mistakes Spotify users make. Read More Make better use of Spotify with these top tips and tricks. Make Better Use of Spotify With These Top Tips and Tricks If you've spent time and money on playlists and a subscription, it makes sense to learn some of the lesser-known features and quirks that the Spotify client has to offer. There is no denying the… Read more .
What do you think of Amazon Prime Music? What more would it take to switch you from your favorite music streaming service? Which of these services do you currently use? Please tell us in the comments below!
