Amazon launch new Unlimited streaming service

The launch of Amazon’s new streaming service is a firm statement - Amazon is a leading player in the music industry, and a strong rival of the likes of Spotify and Apple Music.

Amazon Music Unlimited offers an opportunity for users to connect their streaming service to their home, with a close tie to the hit speakers that Amazon rolled out called ‘Echo’. In this way, Amazon’s streaming service will be integrated into the very fabric of the home especially with the introduction of ‘Alexa’, Amazon’s voice recognition feature associated with the service... and Siri’s worst nightmare.

Applied machine learning allows for Alexa to be capable of deciphering the most vague of instructions - give Alexa a half remembered song title or lyric and she’ll figure the rest out, prompting the speakers to play the half-recalled song.

Amazon Music Unlimited is a gross improvement from Amazon’s previous streaming venture, Amazon Prime Music - an increase from two million tracks to 10s of millions is but one of a number of upgrades.

It is competitive both in terms of technology and price with the potential of launching the music industry into a digital music price war. At a price of $10 a month and $8 for Prime members, the price seems relatively standard. For those who own Echo speakers, however, the price drops to $4 a month.

The service is expected to launch in the UK at a later date.