Amazon Music’s free tier arrives on its Android, iOS, FireTV, and web apps

By Shubham Agarwal Published November 19, 2019

Amazon Music’s free tier is now rolling out to its Android, iOS, FireTV, and web apps. Originally announced earlier this year, the ad-supported plan was initially restricted to Echo and other Alexa-powered smart home devices.

Similar to Spotify, Amazon Music’s free tier doesn’t offer on-demand access to its music library, but instead limits listeners to a selection of playlists and stations. Therefore, you can’t simply look up and play a specific album or track. For that, you will have to upgrade to one of the many premium Amazon Music subscriptions. Fortunately, to sign up for it, you don’t need an Amazon Prime membership or even a credit card.

Recommended Videos

“Music fans will be able to play thousands of stations based on any song, artist, era, and genre; hear top global playlists; and the best in Holiday tunes,” the e-commerce giant wrote in a blog post.

Amazon is making the new ad-supported option available in a handful of countries for starters including the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. It didn’t specify whether it intends to bring it to the rest of the markets.

The move is likely the result of escalating competition in the music streaming business. According to analytics firm Statistica, Amazon Music currently ranks seventh in the U.S., trailing Amazon Music, Spotify, and others by a significant margin.

Apart from the new free tier, Amazon Music has a complicated set of subscriptions. There’s the $13-per-month ($15 for non-prime members) Amazon Music HD, which gets you unlimited access to over 50 million songs in lossless quality; $8 Amazon Music Unlimited ($10 for non-prime members), which is the standard non-HD subscription; $4 single-device Amazon Music Unlimited, which is strictly for one Echo device; and Amazon Prime Music, which the company bundles for free with a Prime membership.

Across the globe as well, the music streaming industry is booming with a number of players expanding to new markets. On Monday, a new report revealed that TikTok’s owner, Bytedance, may also unveil a new music streaming service before the end of the year.

Topics

Shubham Agarwal

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Shubham Agarwal is a freelance technology journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His work has previously appeared in Firstpost…

Mobile

The best note-taking apps for iOS and Android

best note-taking apps 2

Taking notes with your phone or tablet is a convenient way of staying organized. You can use your device to create to-do lists, keep track of important appointments, or even take notes during classes and meetings.

Apps like Bear, SimpleNote, Quip, and others allow you to write, draw, share your notes, and add files to your notes. Choosing the right app to take notes on the go will ensure you never fail to record anything important. We've picked some of the best note-taking apps available.
Evernote

Mobile

The best guitar-learning apps for Android and iOS

Woman playing the guitar

Learning guitar has never been easier. In the past, you would have needed to hire a guitar teacher and buy music books to start learning how to play, but now, the explosion in guitar apps and free online content means that you can learn guitar without breaking the bank. There are a wealth of excellent guitar apps available for the beginner guitarist, as well as specific guitar learning apps to help you get started.

This article runs through eight of the best guitar apps for beginners on Android and iOS. It includes everything from the best guitar learning apps to guitar apps that every self-respecting guitarist should have on their phones. Regardless of your level, you'll find something here to improve your playing.
Justin Guitar Beginner Lessons

Mobile

The 5 best apps to test your 5G connection on Android and iOS

5g super bowl marketing weird verizon speed test

So you've picked up one of the best 5G phones (or one of the cheapest 5G phones), and you're ready to give this whole 5G thing a whirl. Except, well, how do you know you're getting the full benefit of 5G? Sure, the little "5G" symbol pops up sometimes, but what's the actual impact of that? Are you really getting your faster 5G speeds? Or, if you live outside of a 5G area, where should you go to experience the next big mobile network?

Whether you're after a tool to put your new 5G connection to the test or a map that shows you where to go to access your 5G network coverage, here's a list of the best apps to test your 5G connection on Android and iOS.
Meteor by OpenSignal