Amazon Music Streaming: Echo-Linked Cheaper Service To Be Launched, Report Says

Amazon.com, Inc. wants a piece of the fast-growing music streaming business, and is reportedly looking to launch its own subscription service in September. Along with the regular $10 a month for all you can stream option — like other services such as Apple Music and Spotify offer — Amazon is also considering a cheaper package exclusive to its hardware, according to Recode.

The second service will cost $5 a month — half of what other similar services usually charge — and will work only on Amazon’s Echo hardware, allowing users to stream unlimited music without any ads. There have been $5 streaming offers before, but they usually streamed web radio stations instead of allowing users to listen to songs on demand.

The Recode report, which cited unnamed sources, added that Amazon has still not reached final agreements with music labels, with one of the issues being whether the company will charge $4 or $5 for the cheaper service.

The unusual thing about the $5 service would be that it is linked to the Echo hardware, which Amazon launched in 2015. It is a speaker connected to the internet and powered by Amazon’s AI software, Alexa. Consequently, it would not always be possible to carry the device around as handily as people are used to carrying their smartphones, the device usually used to stream music.

Amazon already has a music streaming service, Amazon Music, for its Prime subscribers but it has a limited bank of songs.

Whether users will adopt the Echo hardware for a cheaper monthly fee for their streaming music remains to be seen.