Amazon Music Unlimited is now more expensive
Amazon informed customers of its Amazon Music Unlimited streaming service in January that streaming prices would increase on February 21, 2023. Today, Amazon has increased the price of Amazon Music Unlimited for non-Prime customers by US $1.
The services two non-Prime plans, Amazon Music Unlimited Individual and Amazon Music Unlimited Student, are now available for US $10.99 and US $5.99 per month respectively. Amazon increased the price of its music streaming service in other regions as well. In the U.K., Amazon Music Unlimited costs now £10.99 and £5.99 per month respectively, up £1 each. In the Eurozone, the price has also increased by €1.
The price of the Amazon Music Unlimited Family plan, which is not linked on the main Amazon Music landing page, but accessible here, remains $15.99 per month.
Customers will see the new price, plus, where applicable taxes, on their first bill after February 21, 2023.
Amazon highlights on a support page that the price increase helps it bring customers "even more content and features". Amazon claims that the costs for the service have risen significantly in the past three years. The company explains that licensing costs have grown by 10.6% per customer, and that other expenditures, for instance for infrastructure, have grown by 41.4% per customer compared to January 2019.
Amazon's Music Streaming services
Amazon maintains three different music services currently. Amazon Music Free, which is available to all Amazon customers, Amazon Music Prime, which is included in a Prime membership, and Amazon Music Unlimited.
There are core differences between the plans:
- Amazon Music Free is a free plan, but users may only listen to on-demand playlists and podcasts. The plan includes advertisement. It is only available on select Echo devices and devices that support Alexa. Limited to one device.
- Amazon Music Prime requires a Prime membership. It includes more playlist options, more podcasts, and supports random playback. It is ad-free. It is available on all devices that support Amazon Music. Limited to one device. Supports offline playback.
- Amazon Music Unlimited gives access to all songs with no advertisement. The plan supports HD, Ultra HD and 3D-Audio. Limited to one device, unless Family Plan. Supports offline playback.
The price increase is the second in the past 12 months. Back in May 2022, Amazon increased the price of Amazon Music Unlimited for Amazon Prime customers from $7.99 to $8.99 per month. The price stayed the same for non-Prime subscribers, which was $9.99 at the time for the individual plan.
Closing Words
Apple increased the price of Apple Music in October 2022 from $9.99 to $10.99 per month in the U.S, and the Family Plan from $14.99 to $16.99 per month. The world's largest music streaming provider Spotify is also considering increasing the price of its service. The company charges $9.99 in the U.S. currently.
