(Hypebot) — Amazon Music is making its full 100 million track library available at no additional cost and ad-free to all its Amazon Prime subscribers.
Previously just 2 million songs were free with Prime. A large selection of podcasts is also now ad-free.
Today’s move comes just after Apple Music raised its standalone subscription price by 10% to $10.99 per month and $109 per year. Spotify and other streamers had been expected to raise their prices as well.
Amazon is estimated to have more than 150 million Prime subscribers paying $14.99 per month or $139 per year for free shipping, Prime Video streaming of movies and tv series, photo storage, and several other services, which now include music.
“When Amazon Music first launched for Prime members, we offered an ad-free catalog of 2 million songs, which was completely unique for music streaming at the time,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music. “We continue to innovate on behalf of our customers and to bring even more entertainment to Prime members, on top of the convenience and value they already enjoy. We can’t wait for members to experience not only a massively expanded catalog of songs but also the largest selection of ad-free top podcasts anywhere, at no additional cost to their membership.”
Amazon Prime members can access Amazon Music free by downloading its revamped app here.
Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is also President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.