Does Amazon Music come free for Prime members?

The short answer is no.

The long answer? You might get the Prime music ad-free if you're a Prime member. After all, they can get free two-day shipping on pretty much anything, along with access to special sales and discounts.

And if you can get a free TV show on the free channel Starz or the free comedy series on the free channel IFC, you'd figure Amazon would be a little more generous. But no, it's not.

At least it wasn't until Wednesday. That's when Amazon launched an ad-free Prime Music option that was announced back in March but has been in beta since July.99 per month option that's only available in the United States. If you're already a Prime member you can sign up for it; if you're not, you're out of luck. And if you pay for it, you get the ad-free music streaming and no ads on Amazon's video apps, too.

In addition to the ad-free Prime Music service, Amazon also announced that Prime members can get access to exclusive live music concerts streamed from artists like Jay-Z, John Legend and Taylor Swift. The concerts are currently limited to a few days during select periods each month, but Amazon said more details will be released in the future.

The company also said the amount of Prime members who have signed up for the ad-free Prime Music service has now passed the 200,000 mark.

What music is free with Amazon Music?

Amazon Music Unlimited is a monthly subscription service that gives members unlimited access to over 60 million songs.

Music free with Amazon Music includes new albums and songs for most music genres, along with playlists, artist and genre-based stations. Members also get access to thousands of music videos, and Amazon Music lets you take your pick of whether to download the music or stream it over the web.

Music free with Amazon Music offers members a generous selection of free tracks on a daily rotation, with the option to add more music to the daily playlist at no additional cost. Each time you sign up for a new Amazon Music subscription, you'll be presented with a daily playlist that includes the latest albums and songs added to the service that day. With Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Prime members can listen to the music they want, whenever they want.

To qualify for Amazon Music, you must have an active credit card on file with Amazon. You can choose from either the 1-month, 3-month, 6-month or 12-month plans. As of August 2023, there are three subscription levels:

Prime Music (unlimited access, no advertisements). Hands-On (unlimited access, includes 5 free songs per month, 2 free song downloads and 5 ad-free streaming-only songs). Unlimited (unlimited access, no advertisements). The Amazon Music streaming library includes music across several categories, including New Music (songs and albums that are less than 6 months old), Free Music (songs from composers, songwriters and performers who are not signed by a major label) and Major Label Songs (songs and albums released by artists that are signed to major labels). The new song available every day will be available for 30 days and will be available for only one device. If you have a Prime membership, you can use the Amazon Music app to listen to your music on other devices. If you don't have an Amazon Music account, you can sign up for an Amazon Music account for free in the app, or online.

Amazon Music's song selection varies by subscription level and by category. Prime Music - Most popular and new music, plus the option to create personalized playlists. Hands-On - Uninterrupted listening with handpicked playlists. Unlimited - More music for more money.

How much is an Amazon Music account?

The Amazon Music Unlimited subscription gives you access to over a million songs and ad-free listening on Amazon devices.

Amazon Music Unlimited lets you listen to any song, ad-free, on any device, whether it's on the web, on a computer, an Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, a Kindle, an Android phone or tablet, or a Fire TV or Fire TV Stick. You can also play music from your Amazon Music library on any of these devices without an Amazon Music account.

You can choose to be charged monthly or annually. How do I start listening to music? If you don't have an Amazon Music account, you can sign up for a free one by going to www.amazonmusicunlimited. It's quick and easy to sign up, and it's free for the first 30 days. You'll get access to an ad-free listening experience and you'll be able to download your music to play on any device. If you're a Prime member, you can sign up for the service and listen to music without a fee. If you decide you want to cancel your subscription, you can do so at any time during the free trial period.

Can I listen to music without paying for it? Yes. If you sign up for Amazon Music Unlimited, you get access to a library of over a million songs, ad-free. You can stream music from your Amazon Music library on any device without an Amazon Music account.

You can choose to pay monthly or annually. How do I sign up for Amazon Music? Go to www.com and create a new account if you don't already have one. Choose the subscription option that best fits your lifestyle and preferences.

What devices can I listen to music on? Amazon Music Unlimited is available on a wide variety of devices.

Why am I getting charged for Amazon Music when I have Prime?

One of our members, John-E, received this message from Amazon Music regarding his Prime membership: Our records indicate that you previously purchased and own Prime membership and an Unlimited version of Amazon Music Unlimited.

We recently updated our billing policy to require billing on the same credit card used to make the original purchase in order to prevent charge back situations. In order to protect your credit score from impacting your status with us, we cannot reverse this decision, nor offer a refund, so please accept this action as a business decision with us. Please use your original method of payment for future Amazon products and Amazon Video purchases only.

The message went on to state that John-E was not eligible to receive a discount if he were to switch to Amazon Music streaming and had purchased music through the Amazon MP3 store before this point. This led John-E to believe that when he paid for Amazon Prime, he did not have to sign up for Amazon Music Streaming. He was also upset that he was now receiving bills for a service he has never heard of.

John-E received this response by email, dated July 25: Dear John-E. We understand how frustrating it is to be contacted about an issue you've never seen or used. The problem is that you are correct about your earlier statements being incorrect. In fact, your credit card statement will still show the account is a part of Amazon Prime, but it won't say you get a discount because you already receive unlimited Amazon Video services. We hope this makes it a little easier for you. We apologize again.

Sincerely. Customer Care. A few months later, after purchasing and activating the Amazon Music streaming service, John-E received a bill for an undisclosed amount charged to his Amazon account. When he called Amazon's customer care representative and asked him why he was charged, the agent indicated that it was a new program and could not explain it further. After trying several times to contact Amazon again, John-E found this note taped to his doorstep:

Hello John-E. Please see the attached note, as per our standard e-mail policy. This mail should not be sent to your company in the future.