Both the US and UK versions of Amazon’s music streaming service, Amazon Music Unlimited, have implemented price increases as of February 1. Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers in the United States will now pay $10.99 per month (up from $9.99), and British listeners will pay £10.99 per month (up from £9.99). The price of the student bundle has also gone up, from $4.99 to $5.99 (£4.99 to £4.99).
Midia reports that as of the middle of 2022, Spotify had 30.5% of the global market share and Apple Music 13.7%. Amazon Music had 13.3%.
Amazon has updated the prices of some of its music streaming plans, saying, “To bring you even more content and features, we’re updating the prices of select Amazon Music Unlimited plans.” In October, Apple announced that it would raise the price of Apple Music from $9.99 to $10.99 per month, so this increase is in line with that announcement. Also, Billboard reports that Spotify’s monthly fee has remained at $9.99 since the service’s 2011 debut in the United States.
Amazon Prime Music members have access to “millions” of songs, many of which are in lossless CD quality, and 100 million songs overall.
Spotify hasn’t raised prices in the United States in over a decade, but a change could be on the horizon. Billboard reported last year that CEO Daniel Ek said the service would increase prices in the United States in the following year’s financial report.
The drop in Amazon’s stock price, from nearly $170 in March 2018 to less than $100 today, prompted the price increase. In an effort to reduce expenses, the company has recently announced a massive layoff that will affect around 18,000.
