Over the last decade, subscription services have taken over the music industry. Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora are the places people go to listen to music. As a result, listeners are buying music less and streaming it more. To hop on board this industry trend, Amazon has announced that it is going to step up the competition with its new streaming service.
Taking over
According to the New York Post, Amazon is going to launch a new streaming service in the fall. The prices are supposed to rival Spotify at around $9.99 per month with a discount of a couple of dollars for those who purchase an Amazon Echo speaker. Amazon already offers a music service for those who have Amazon Prime. It includes two-day shipping, access to videos and various other bonuses. Amazon Prime Music users can also stream an album, download it, order the CD or even get it on vinyl. Though this is helpful, it's not exactly what people want.
Being successful
Prime Music definitely has its perks, but it's nowhere near as accessible as Spotify. The public wants to be able to search for a song and listen to it in a matter of seconds. Pandora has its appeal, but it's quite limiting. With Pandora, you can be exposed to new music from artists you know you already like. However, there's no promise you can hear a certain tune you set out to listen to. It's more like the radio. Spotify, on the other hand, not only allows users to search and find quickly, but it also gives recommendations based on algorithms. For example, it may say, "Artists similar to this one," so you can explore new music that's likely to your taste.
In addition, Spotify offers up already-made playlists to choose based on moods, genre, time period, etc. Some popular ones are "Evening Chill" and "Your Favorite Coffee House," both of which have over a million followers. Spotify also allows you to connect with your Facebook friends so you can see what your peers are listening to. In a way, it's like another social media site.
If Amazon's new subscription service wants to get ahead, it needs to have something that Spotify and Apple Music doesn't. The headphone package may be it, but it's too early to tell.