Amazon Music Unlimited is now available in Canada. Yesterday, the e-commerce giant announced details of the expansion which includes a 90-day trial (4-month trial for residents of Quebec). The launch of the service also brings Alexa to the app (iOS and Android) and Echo smart speakers. Pricing for the service is a bit cluttered due to the different plan options and Prime status of the customer so let’s break it down:
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For individual users:
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Prime customers: $7.99/month or $79/year
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non-Prime customers: $9.99/month
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For families of up to six members:
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Prime customers: $14.99/month or $149/year
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non-Prime customers: $14.99/month
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Single Device Plan: $3.99/month for one Echo device
Amazon Prime Music was already available in Canada, but it features only a small fraction of Unlimited’s music library, roughly 2 million songs versus 40 million. The other benefit of the Unlimited service is enhanced voice capabilities of Alexa, the company’s virtual assistant. Given the popularity of smart speakers, customers often look for compatible music services, and vice versa. Using the paid service, customers can ask Alexa to wake them up to a song or genre, sing lyrics to Alexa to discover a song’s name, and discover activity-based playlists.
Canada is the 47th country to support the music service and if you’re like me, you’re curious which countries somehow received support before Canada. Surprisingly, there is wide support for the service across Europe and South America. While it’s not clear how Amazon chooses the next countries to bring its services to, likely licensing deals with publishers come into play.
PRESS RELEASE
Amazon Music Expands to Canada with Launch of Amazon Music Unlimited
Amazon’s premium music streaming service unlocks millions of songs, thousands of playlists and personalized stations
Today, Amazon Music listeners in Canada now have even more ways to access music through voice with Alexa in the Amazon Music app and on Echo devices
Prime and non-Prime members can choose between multiple price plans, including the exclusive Single Device plan for playback on one Amazon Echo device for only CDN$3.99/month
For a limited time, eligible customers can subscribe for a 90-day free trial
September 26, 2018 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ: AMZN) — Amazon today announced the launch of Amazon Music Unlimited for Canada, bringing customers a catalogue of millions of songs and thousands of playlists and personalized stations, combined with the magic of voice controls powered by Alexa. Joining the previously launched Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited unlocks millions more songs to customers, including the newest music from artists including Ariana Grande, Drake, Arkells, Shawn Mendes, Carrie Underwood and more, as well as thousands of playlists and stations, and a variety of localized programming curated by Amazon Music experts. Now music listening is easier than ever before in Canada with today’s launch of more ways to access music through voice with Alexa on the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android, and on all Echo devices. To learn more visit amazon.ca/music/unlimited.
“We’ve seen such a positive customer response from the launch of Prime Music for Canada last year, and with today’s launch we’re excited to bring more customers even more choice and ways of discovering music with Alexa,” stated Sean McMullan, Head of International Expansion for Amazon Music. “We’re thrilled for our Canadian customers to start streaming with Unlimited today, and begin enjoying expanded voice controls to play music for every moment.”
Now in more than 40 countries, Amazon Music brings the most natural and simple way to access and discover favourite songs by today’s chart-topping artists, completely ad-free with unlimited playback and skips. Amazon Music Unlimited launches for Canada less than a year after Prime Music launched, the ad-free music streaming service with more than one million songs available to Prime members at no additional cost. Amazon Music Unlimited is available to all customers, offering even more music and ways to ask for it through Alexa. On Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music, customers have the ability to ask for music on any Alexa-enabled device, including in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android, by mood, era, genre and title. Customers are also now able to request a playlist based on activity, set music alarms to wake up to, build and add a song to a new playlist just by asking, or return to a song you were listening to earlier in the day. With hands-free listening in the Amazon Music app, customers can simply ask Alexa to play music, anywhere they go.
Customers can just ask Alexa:
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Interested in a playlist for a specific activity? Try, “Alexa, play music for working out” or “Alexa, play music for cleaning”
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Prefer a certain song or genre to wake you up in the morning? Try, “Alexa, set an alarm at 6 a.m. to the new song by Alessia Cara” or “Alexa, wake me up with relaxing music at 7 a.m.”
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Hear a song you love and want to save it? Just ask, “Alexa, add this song to my running playlist” or “Alexa, create a new playlist with this song”
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Want to listen to music you haven’t heard in a while? Ask, “Alexa, play the Metric playlist I was listening to three weeks ago” or “Alexa, play music I was listening to earlier today”
In addition to a range of locally curated playlists and stations featuring international chart-topping artists, from “Brand New Music” to “All Hits,” Amazon Music Unlimited offers numerous playlists and stations featuring Canadian artists from all genres including Cœur de pirate, Celine Dion, The Weeknd, Blue Rodeo and Jessie Reyez. Subscribers can also find the best in top genres, from Tory Lanez on "Fresh Hip-Hop" to The Reklaws on "Fresh Country," as well as explore a range of globally available playlists, including “Pop Culture,” which spotlights the latest pop music releases.
Eligible customers will enjoy a free 90-day trial for a limited time and can choose between a variety of plan options: the exclusive Prime member price of CDN$7.99/month or CDN$79/year, the Individual Plan for non-Prime members at CDN$9.99/month; the Family Plan, which allows up to six members of a household to share a subscription for just CDN$14.99/month for Prime and non-Prime members, or CDN$149/year for Prime members; the Single Device Plan, offering full access to Amazon Music Unlimited at CDN$3.99/month on one Echo device, including the recently announced Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show and more. All plans are subject to applicable sales tax. Learn more about pricing and features at amazon.ca/music/unlimited.
