amazon.com/music/unlimited
Jeff Bezos is one of the world's richest men and he has a lot of interests. He is involved in many different businesses, including music, shopping, film, and television. He also wants to go to space. That is his big dream.
It will require hundreds of billions of dollars to build a spaceship and go to the moon as a private entity. Thanks to the Amazon money, I'm sure Bezos will not have any trouble making that dream a reality.
I am not particularly concerned where Jeff Bezos goes in outer space as long as he does not neglect his businesses on Earth. There is a certain standard of excellence that one expects from a company that is run by one of the richest men in the world. And I always hold Amazon to this standard, no matter what version of their massive digital empire we are discussing.
And, more often than not, I would say that Amazon generally delivers on its expectation of reliability. For instance, Amazon Prime Video has put out award-winning and critically acclaimed original content, such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and The Man in the High Castle. Plus, of course, Prime Video has tons of syndicated shows and movies for its viewers to enjoy. I have never had many complaints with this corner of Amazon (save for maybe a few streaming and buffering issues here and there).
When I looked into Amazon Prime Music, I had high expectations; with Amazon's unprecedented funding for streaming services, I would expect more songs to be available than on Spotify, sound quality to be on par with Tidal, and an intuitive interface like Apple Music. Maybe it's unfair of me to come in expecting these things, but that's the standard we always look for when trying to find the perfect music streaming platform, right?
History
Amazon Music Unlimited is a music streaming service that is different from Amazon MP3. You can stream certain content on-demand for free (rather, than the baseline monthly price you pay) and you can download and purchase certain titles as well. This allows you to enjoy them anytime, offline or on.
Amazon Music (then Amazon MP3) launched a public beta version of the service on September 25th, 2007. The January 2008 release marked the first time that Amazon Music sold songs and albums from all four of the major record companies - EMI, Universal, Warner Bros., and Sony BMG - as well as a number of independent and smaller record companies, without Digital Rights Management (DRM). This meant that most of the songs were sold to customers in MP3 format without any audio watermarking. However, some songs are watermarked today depending on where you are downloading from. Record companies have had licensing agreements restrictions placed on them at various points in time.
Amazon MP3 was first launched in the United States on December 3, 2008. Amazon continued this gradually global rollout over the years, expanding in the Japanese market on November 10th, 2010; Spain and Italy on October 4, 2012; and Mexico on November 7th, 2018.
Recently, Amazon Music announced that it would be launching Amazon Music HD, a new subscription tier that would provide high-quality music listening experiences for Amazon Music users. This lifted Amazon Music up to the status of Tidal and Qobuz for serious audiophiles and sound geeks.
Design
It is easy to find what you are looking for, and the design is organized in a way that makes it easy to use.
Honestly, Amazon Music Unlimited has an unusal design that I would call counterintuitive. It's almost as if the people who designed it were intentionally trying to do a novel layout, different from those of Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal just because. Just to be different, I presume. However, there is a reason that the largest audio streaming services in the world all have a similar design and layout?because it works well. It is easy to find what you are looking for, and the design is organized in a way that makes it easy to use.
My grandpa always used to say to me when I was a kid, "If it's not broken, don't fix it." And I think that these are some wise words of advice that Amazon Music should have heeded when designing their music streaming platform. It will take some time for people to get used to this new system, so it's definitely something that they'll need to keep an eye on.
Despite some aesthetic reservations, I find Amazon Music Unlimited to be a sleek and sophisticated music streaming platform. Its dark theme is appealing, as is its use of midnight blues and metallic grays.
The layout's function is where the design starts to bother me. First, everything is inverted. Albums are on the left and playlist options are on the right. The whole thing feels backward. Of course, it probably won't be an issue once you get used to it. But until then, it might feel a bit clunky.
Content
As I touched on briefly before, Amazon Music Unlimited (and Amazon Music Unlimited HD) offers over 50 million songs. Spotify falls short in comparison with this number, boasting only 30 million. Tidal still has Amazon Music beat, however, with 60 million+. But 50 million songs are certainly nothing to scoff at, that is for sure.
Amazon Music Unlimited offers listeners the ability to stream any and all of the its 50 million songs on demand, as well as the option to download them (for a price). However, downloaded songs will have watermarks and will disappear if you cancel your membership.
Desktop and Mobile Experience
I have spoken about my somewhat mixed feelings towards the desktop browser version of Amazon Music Unlimited. Where they make up for this, however, is in their mobile app. It contains all of the best aspects of the web browser music player (aesthetically pleasing) with a highly improved overall design that is much easier to use.
Others appear to share my assessment that Amazon Music Unlimited is an average app with 4.7 stars out of 5 on the Apple App Store. This is evidenced by the 383,560 ratings it has received thus far. Clearly, the majority of people find this service useful when accessed through their mobile devices. And in light of this, it's logical for you to make use of Amazon Music Unlimited most frequently on your phone.
Pricing and Plans
Amazon Music offers 4 different tiers, each with its own payment options. The individual account costs $7.99 per month, which is a very competitive rate compared to the industry standard of $10. The family plan offers up to 6 accounts with simultaneous streaming, which is another fair deal if you ask me. The single device plan costs $3.99 per month and connects your Amazon Echo device so that you can access Amazon Music capabilities without having to pay separately for each individual account.
If you are a student, you can enjoy Amazon Music Unlimited for just $4.99 per month. This offer has always been available to students, and remains so today.
If you want Amazon Music Unlimited in HD, then a single account will cost you $14.99.
Suggestions that I have for Amazon Music Unlimited
I would consider a redesign of your in-browser media player, keeping the aesthetic. I would find a more intuitive layout and contractually get around the watermark business. That is incredibly annoying. Especially for songs that you have paid for. Oh, and adding podcasts into the mix would be a wise move, too.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if you are looking for an expansive music library at an affordable price, Amazon Music Unlimited is a great option to consider. There are some minor drawbacks, but given Amazon's track record, they will likely be resolved in time. After all, this is Amazon we're talking about.
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