Amazon's Prime Music service, a free add-on for anyone who's already a Prime subscriber, launched to a resounding "meh." The app and service functions well enough, but with plenty of alternatives both free and paid, Amazon's boast of "over one million songs" rang somewhat hollow. As a Prime subscriber myself, I saw it as a nice perk, but it's no reason to stop paying for Google Play Music All Access as well.
Today Amazon is boosting its song library with "hundreds of thousands of new songs," probably by signing a few more music labels. You might recognize some of the more notable artists:
- David Guetta
- Al Green
- Miles Davis
- Kendrick Lamar
- Linkin Park
- Shakira
- Deadmau5
- Ella Fitzgerald
- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
- Neil Young
- DJ Snake & Lil Jon
- Young the Giant
- A$AP Rocky
- Elvis
- Oasis
- Kacey Musgraves
- Ray Charles
- Panic! at the Disco
- Wyclef Jean
- Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds
- Skrillex
- John Coltrane
Amazon is also adding hundreds of new Prime Playlists in an impressively wide variety of genres. I still think the service isn't going to earn Amazon many subscribers on its own - the free two-day shipping and Prime Instant Video do that. But this is a good bonus for Prime users, and might make a decent substitute for a stand-alone service. The app is available for Android (and Amazon's Kindle and Fire devices), plus iOS and the web, but only US customers can listen in.
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:AMZN)—Amazon today announced it has added hundreds of thousands of songs and hundreds of new, expert-programmed Prime Playlists to the Prime Music catalog. The newly-added selection includes songs from artists new to the Prime Music catalog, as well as additional tracks from artists already in the Prime Music catalog, such as David Guetta, Al Green, Miles Davis, Kendrick Lamar, Linkin Park, Shakira, Deadmau5, Ella Fitzgerald, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Neil Young, DJ Snake & Lil Jon, Young the Giant, A$AP Rocky, Elvis, Oasis, Kacey Musgraves, Ray Charles, Panic! at the Disco, Wyclef Jean, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Skrillex, John Coltrane and many more. Prime members can also enjoy hundreds of new Prime Playlists, such as “Upbeat Indie Vibes,” “Electronic Beats for Work,” “Rainy Day Jazz,” “Jack White and More,” “Bass Drops and Fist-Pumps,” and “Justin Timberlake’s Top Songs.”
“The response we’ve had to Prime Music has far exceeded our expectations and we’re excited to make Prime Music even more valuable for Prime members,” said Steve Boom, VP of Digital Music for Amazon. “Prime Music was introduced just over a month ago and we’ve already significantly expanded the Prime Music catalog. Prime members have been telling us how much they love Prime Playlists, so we’re also pleased to offer hundreds of great new playlists to make it easier to enjoy the best of Prime Music.”
Prime Music launched on June 12, giving millions of U.S. Prime members unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs at no additional cost to their membership. Prime Music is the latest benefit of Amazon Prime and joins unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 20 million items, unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of popular movies and TV episodes through Prime Instant Video and access to more than 500,000 books to borrow for free with the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library.
Prime members in the U.S. can listen to Prime Music at www.primemusic.com, and on Kindle Fire HD/HDX, iOS, Android, PC, and Mac. Eligible customers who are not already Prime members can try Prime Music with a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime by visiting www.amazon.com/prime.