The Desk appreciates the support of readers who purchase products or services through links on our website. Learn more...

Amazon unlocks 100 million music tracks for Prime members

A promotional image for Amazon Music, which offers over 100 million music tracks and thousands of ad-free podcast episodes.
A promotional image for Amazon Music, which offers over 100 million music tracks and thousands of ad-free podcast episodes. (Graphic courtesy Amazon, Editing by The Desk)

Amazon says members of its Prime benefit will now have access to over 100 million songs within the Amazon Music app, up from 2 million tracks that were previously offered.

The increase in content will be included in Amazon Music as part of a customer’s Amazon Prime membership, which increased earlier this year to $15 a month or $140 a year.

Users will be able to play an individual track on-demand, with additional songs offered through a “shuffle” mode after the track plays.

In addition to the expanded music catalog, Amazon says it will start offering some podcasts without ad interruptions when shows are played through the Amazon Music app. A spokesperson for the company said podcasts produced and distributed by ESPN, NPR, CNN, the New York Times and Amazon-owned Wondery are among those that will be available to Amazon Music users without ads.

A refreshed version of the Amazon Music app that is rolling out to customers will include a podcast preview function, allowing users to listen to short clips of a show before they download an episode or subscribe to a series. The feature, called Podcast Previews, is intended to “make it easier for existing podcast fans to find their next favorite show,” a company spokesperson said.

Customers who upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited will be able to stream full albums, play any song on-demand, and listen to higher-quality music tracks. Amazon Music Unlimited costs $9 a month for Prime members, or $10 a month for those who aren’t subscribed to Amazon Prime.

Amazon Music is available for most popular smartphones and tablets, as well as on Amazon-powered Echo smart speakers and through popular web browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Photo of author

About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
Home » News » Industries » Streaming » Amazon unlocks 100 million music tracks for Prime members