Amazon launches free music service for Prime customers in the U.S.
Competition in the music streaming business is heating up. Online giant Amazon lets its Prime customers in the U.S. listen to more than a million songs for free and ad-free.
The service, which has been speculated about for a long time, went online on Thursday without any big announcements. Amazon promises more than a million songs in the offer without advertising at the start. The group had raised the price of Prime membership in the U.S., which includes faster free delivery, from $79 to $99 a year. In return, a free offer of TV shows and movies was integrated.
However, the Prime music service will hardly include any new releases and no songs from the catalog of industry leader Universal Music, the New York Times wrote late Wednesday. Negotiations with the music industry began about six months ago and were slowed by differences over price, it said. The online retailer was unable to reach an agreement with Universal Music until the end, but the other two heavyweights Sony and Warner Music were on board.
Streaming music from the web is a fast-growing market. Most providers offer unlimited access to millions of songs for a monthly fee. The Swedish company Spotify is considered the market leader. Apple recently bought headphone provider Beats, which also has a streaming service. (SDA)
