Amazon Music Price Increases
Amazon Music raised prices for its music service in the USA, United Kingdom and Canada.
This marks the first adjustment of prices for Amazon Music Unlimited—Amazon’s paid music streaming service—since August 2023.
In the United States, individual non-Prime members will now pay $11.99 monthly, up from $10.99, while Prime members will see their monthly rate increase to $10.99 from $9.99.
Family subscribers are facing a more significant increase, with monthly rates rising to $19.99 from $16.99, and annual subscriptions going up to $199 from $169, according to an Amazon Music update on the FAQ page.
The new pricing structure aligns Amazon Music Unlimited rates with its major competitor Spotify, which raised the price of its premium subscription to $11.99 in June 2024.
Despite the price increase, Amazon maintains a competitive edge by offering Prime members a $1 monthly discount on individual plans.
Comparison with Other Streaming Services
Other leading streaming services currently charge varying rates. YouTube Music offers individual plans for $10.99 monthly, with family plans at $16.99. Both Apple Music and Tidal have similar pricing structures, charging $10.99 for individual subscriptions and $16.99 for family plans.
According to MIDIA Research, Amazon Music is the fourth largest music streamer globally, and the third largest if China is excluded. Tencent Music gives Amazon approximately 11% of the global subscriber market share, as reported by Midia in their latest report.
In recent years, Amazon’s streaming service has undergone several price tweaks. The company began raising rates in May 2022 to $8.99, followed by an increase for non-Prime members to $10.99 in January 2023, and another adjustment for Prime members to $9.99 in August 2023.
Amazon continues to offer several levels of music streaming services. In addition to the Premium Unlimited service, users can access Amazon Music Free, which is ad-supported, and Amazon Music Prime, included with Prime memberships, providing podcasting and music listening options.
“Amazon Music Unlimited offers 100 million songs in HD quality without loss, millions of tracks in Ultra HD, along with thousands of expert-curated playlists and stations,” states Amazon Music on its FAQ page.
Impact of Licensing Agreements
The price increase comes just over a month after Universal Music Group and Amazon Music renewed their global licensing deal.
According to the press release regarding the UMG agreement with Amazon, the deal includes “expanded global relations that will foster further innovations, exclusive content with UMG artists, and artist-oriented promotion strategies including enhanced fraud protection.
PR claims that the agreement ensures “UMG artists reach their commercial potential through Amazon Music’s continued product enhancements and exclusive content, which fosters genuine engagement between artists and fans.“
Amazon’s pricing reflects a broader trend in the streaming sector, where major suppliers have implemented similar increases to keep up with inflation and expand their offerings.
Streaming video giant Netflix recently raised subscription prices in the USA for the first time in a year and a half. The standard ad-free plan, allowing two simultaneous HD streams, increased by $2.50 per month, now costing $17.99, up from $15.49, while the premium tier is now priced at $24.99, up by $2 from $22.99.
Earlier this month, streaming service Discovery+, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, also increased both its ad-free and ad-supported prices by $1, now costing $5.99 and $9.99 per month, respectively.
Amazon hikes prices for ‘Music Unlimited’ streaming service in the US, UK and Canada
