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Technology & Innovation — June 13, 2014

Amazon Enters the Music Streaming Business with Launch of Prime Music

Amazon launched a new music streaming service today through its Prime membership program. Amazon Prime Music, like the online giant’s instant video service, is expected to grow over time.

Robert Montenegro

What’s the Latest?

Amazon Prime members angered by the service’s $20 price increase can take solace in the fact they’ve just found themselves surrounded by oodles and oodles of free music. The online giant launched its Prime Music service today for no extra cost to its premium members. The unlimited, ad-free service behaves much like now-rival Spotify, with users able to select which tracks to listen to (as opposed to the radio-like Pandora). Although the current selection of songs is limited, the service is expected to grow much like Amazon’s Instant Video has in recent years.

What’s the Big Idea?

The Washington Post’s Hayley Tsukayama sums up the service’s launch as a soft beginning:

“Amazon’s service isn’t going to knock any of its competitors out of the water right away. But that’s probably not Amazon’s immediate goal.”

As mentioned, Amazon has a history of spicing up their streaming services over time. Also notable is that Amazon is expected to announce a new phone in the coming week, a cannonball dive into the increasingly competitive mobile market.

Read more at The Washington Post

Photo credit: S_L/Shutterstock

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