Amazon Music launches free, ad-sponsored tier on iOS, Android, and Fire TV

It’s no longer limited to Alexa devices

by Chris Welch

Nov 18, 2019, 11:00 PM UTC

Image: Amazon

Earlier this year, Amazon began offering a free, ad-sponsored music streaming tier on Echo speakers and other Alexa devices. Offering access to “top playlists and stations,” this free experience is different than the selection of on-demand music that you get with an Amazon Prime membership. And Amazon Music Unlimited (or HD) subscribers don’t need to worry about ads.

Today, the company is rolling out the free Amazon Music streaming tier to customers on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Amazon’s own Fire TV products. “Music fans will be able to play thousands of stations based on any song, artist, era, and genre; hear top global playlists; and the best in holiday tunes,” the company wrote in a blog post. You can also access the ad-sponsored Amazon Music tier at music.amazon.com. A Prime subscription isn’t required — nor is a credit card or billing method — but you will need an Amazon account.

Sure seems like Amazon has a lot of options for streaming music nowadays. Let’s take a look at what’s out there:

Amazon Music HD: Lossless / hi-fi version of Amazon Music Unlimited. Over 50 million songs in lossless quality, “millions” in hi-res quality. $12.99 / month for Prime customers, $14.99 / month for non-Prime customers
Amazon Music Unlimited: Amazon’s standard monthly subscription music service. $7.99 / month for Prime customers, $9.99 / month for non-Prime customers
Amazon Music Unlimited on a single device: $3.99 / month(Limited to Echo speakers and Fire TV.)
Amazon Prime Music: On-demand access to over 2 million songs for Prime subscribers Included free with Prime membership.
Amazon Music Free: Access to top playlists and “thousands” of music streaming stations. Includes audio advertisements.

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