Ten days ago, Amazon introduced Prime Music, a streaming music service available to members of their Prime subscription at no additional cost. Amazon Prime is an annual subscription that offers a plethora of options – free 2-day shipping, tons of free movies and other entertainment content on Prime Instant Video (their entertainment service), Kindle’s lending library and now, free music.
This entry into streaming music is a much needed option for Amazon. Justifying a $99 per year cost to users might have been a hard sell in the past. However, with recent deals such as exclusive tie-ups with HBO, exclusive premieres of shows on Amazon and what seems to be an ever-expanding catalog of movies and music, I am starting to think if there is a need for existing subscription services like Netflix and Spotify. Would they still be needed if I can get them both in my Prime subscription? That would save me almost as much as $300 a year.
Amazon’s music service currently has a limited collection of music and nowhere near its competitors Spotify, Rdio, Play and Beats. As a streaming service, Amazon music has a long way to go. Not only does it lack a huge collection, it misses severely with a lack of popular music artists like Lady Gaga and Imagine Dragons. Comparing Amazon Music with Spotify, the only competitor Amazon should be worried about, Amazon’s music service offers absolutely no value addition at this point of time. We are talking nearly 19 million less than its competition. The interface is also a bit iffy on all platforms. There aren’t many features that would make me see the benefits of using Prime music.
Initially, I was quite excited since I shell out nearly $10 a month on Spotify. And to get a similar music streaming service at no additional cost seemed like an awesome deal. I think Amazon has such an amazing product idea – streaming music, a welcome addition its Prime membership. If only Amazon works on getting its collection to massive levels and offers a complete music experience the way Spotify or Rdio does, I do not see users switching over from their favorite music streaming services to Prime Music.
Divya Ramamoorthy is a graduate from Madras university and a post-graduate (MBA) from Jain Group of Institutions- Bangalore, India, based in San Francisco Bay Area, United States. Divya area of expertise revolves around creating careers, identifying talents, recruiting and assisting people . she is also currently enro ...
