Can you stream Amazon Prime music?
What is Amazon Prime Music?
Amazon Prime Music is an ad-free music streaming service included with an Amazon Prime membership. It gives Prime members access to a catalog of over 2 million songs that they can stream on-demand without any ads interrupting their listening experience. There is no additional cost to access Amazon Prime Music – it comes bundled with a Prime subscription.
Prime Music is one part of the overall Amazon Music service. The other major component is Amazon Music Unlimited, which offers access to over 50 million songs for an additional monthly subscription fee. Prime Music contains a limited selection of the overall Amazon Music catalog, but still provides plenty of music for casual listening without any ads.
Some key aspects of Amazon Prime Music include:
- Ad-free streaming for Prime members
- Over 2 million songs available
- Included at no extra cost with a Prime membership
- Streaming access from desktop, mobile, and connected devices
- Ability to download songs for offline listening
Compatibility with Devices
Amazon Prime Music is available on most iOS and Android mobile devices through the Amazon Music app (https://www.amazon.com/music/i/faq). You can also access it through the Amazon Music desktop web player. In addition, Amazon Prime Music is supported on Amazon’s own Echo and Fire TV devices as well as other Alexa-enabled devices like some smart speakers and smart TVs (https://www.amazon.com/music-streaming-devices/s?k=music+streaming+devices).
This means you can stream Prime Music on smartphones, tablets, computers, and a variety of Alexa/Amazon devices like the Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick. As long as you have an active Prime membership, you’ll be able to access the Prime Music catalog from all these compatible devices without any extra cost or subscription.
Streaming Quality
Amazon Prime Music streams music at up to 256 kbps bitrate (PCMag, 2022). This bitrate provides good audio quality for most listeners, though it is not lossless. Amazon Music Unlimited offers higher quality streams up to 850 kbps for HD quality audio and 3730 kbps for Ultra HD quality (Amazon, 2023). However, Amazon Prime Music’s 256 kbps bitrate is sufficient for casual listening and everyday use (PCMag, 2022). The audio quality is comparable to Spotify’s streaming bitrate and sounds reasonably good on most devices and headphones.
While Prime Music’s streaming bitrate is not the highest available, it balances audio quality and bandwidth usage for an enjoyable listening experience. Audiophiles may prefer lossless quality services like Tidal HiFi or Amazon Music HD. But for many everyday listeners, Prime Music’s 256 kbps streams offer good enough quality without the extra cost or bandwidth requirements of lossless streaming.
Catalog Size
Amazon Prime Music has a catalog of over 2 million songs available for streaming.[1] This is less than some competitor services like Spotify and Apple Music, which boast over 75 million songs.[2] However, Amazon Prime Music still provides access to a substantial catalog that should satisfy most everyday listening needs.
Offline Downloads
Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers have the ability to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening [1]. This allows listeners to access their music without an internet connection, such as when traveling or commuting. Downloaded content can be played through the Amazon Music app on mobile devices as well as Amazon Echo devices [2].
However, there are some limitations on downloads. Subscribers are limited to downloading up to 500 titles at a time. Downloads are also device-restricted, meaning downloaded content can only be played on the specific device it was downloaded to. Amazon Prime members who do not subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited can download up to 100 Prime Playlists for offline listening.
Supported Countries
Amazon Prime Music is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Japan (Music Help: Amazon Music Services). The service initially launched in the US in October 2016 before expanding internationally. According to Amazon, Amazon Music Unlimited has continued growing its geographic availability, expanding to over 30 countries total around the world.
Cost
Amazon Prime Music is included at no added cost for Amazon Prime members. As part of the Prime membership, which costs $139/year or $14.99/month in the US, members get access to a catalog of over 2 million songs ad-free. This makes Amazon Prime Music a nice extra perk of the Prime subscription without any additional fees. According to Amazon’s FAQ page, “As a Prime member, you already get Amazon Prime Music for free with your Prime membership.” So if you’re already paying for Prime benefits like free shipping and Prime Video, the music streaming does not cost anything extra.
The Amazon Music Unlimited service, which has over 75 million songs, is a separate paid subscription at $9.99/month for Prime members. But Prime Music’s 2+ million songs are completely free to stream and download offline as part of the base Prime membership.
Music Discovery
Amazon Prime Music provides personalized recommendations based on your listening habits and preferences. As you listen to songs, albums, playlists, and stations, Amazon Prime Music’s algorithms learn about your tastes and start recommending relevant music to you.
According to a Reddit user, “Every music it plays is based on my recommendations. How to get Amazon Music play more relevant songs?” This indicates the service tailors its recommendations specifically to each user over time based on their listening behavior (source).
Amazon Prime Music also offers hundreds of expertly curated playlists and stations covering a wide variety of genres, moods, activities and more. These can provide great recommendations for new music discovery based on themes and categories. You can browse playlists like “90s Country Gold” or stations like “Pop Culture” to find fitting songs and artists. Amazon states their music experts “add a human touch to your listening experience by curating music stations and playlists for any moment” (source).
Limits
One of the biggest limitations of Amazon Prime Music compared to other streaming services is that you can’t download music you’ve purchased from Amazon’s mp3 store. With Spotify or Apple Music, any music you buy can be downloaded for offline listening. But with Prime Music, even if you’ve paid for an album or song on Amazon, you can only stream it – downloads aren’t allowed.
Another limitation is that there is no family sharing option. Services like Spotify and Apple Music allow you to share your subscription with up to 5 family members, but Prime Music does not have any official family sharing capabilities. The subscription is limited to a single Amazon account.
(Source: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/amazon-prime-music-vs-spotify-and-apple-music/)
Summary
Amazon Prime Music provides a decent music streaming option for Amazon Prime members looking to listen to a limited selection of popular songs and albums. With over 2 million songs available to stream without ads, it offers enough variety for casual listening. However, its catalog is not nearly as robust as full-fledged paid music streaming services like Spotify or Apple Music, which boast over 75 million songs. The major advantage of Prime Music is that it comes bundled with an Amazon Prime membership, so there is no extra subscription cost if you are already a Prime member. While its limited song selection may not satisfy hardcore music fans, Prime Music offers a satisfactory free streaming music option for Prime subscribers who want to listen to popular hits and albums without paying for yet another monthly subscription.