Amazon Music Unlimited is growing faster than market leaders Spotify and Apple

Shawn Knight

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In brief: Spotify and Apple Music are the two largest streaming outfits in the US but a dark horse competitor - Amazon - is coming on strong. The e-commerce giant has a lot working in its favor including a lower price than its competitors (assuming you have a Prime subscription) and its Echo smart speakers.

Streaming music in the US is viewed by many as a two horse race between Apple Music and Spotify but as highlighted by a recent report from the Financial Times, it’d be foolish to count out the third place competitor.

Amazon Music Unlimited has been making huge strides as of late. According to the report, which cites data from Midia Research, Amazon’s subscriber base grew by 70 percent over the past year, putting Amazon in third place with roughly 32 million subscribers.

In comparison, Apple Music has around 50 million subscribers and Spotify leads the way with 100 million subscribers after growing its base by 25 percent last year.

Per Thurrott, Midia credits Amazon’s success to its Echo smart speakers, it’s ubiquity with consumers and its price point. Amazon Music Unlimited is only $7.99 per month for Prime subscribers.

Age is also an important metric to consider. Amazon’s user base is older than that of its rivals. Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music, said they are not battling for the same customers as everyone else. “For the industry to reach its full potential, we can’t just look at 15- to 22-year-olds,” he added.

Masthead credit: Headphones on Laptop Computer by welcomia

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I get that you can curate with Apple. Spotify, and Amazon, but honestly I will just stick with iHeartRadio Plus. At only $4.99 it is a no-brainer and the quality is perfectly acceptable. It is funny to see this article because I received an offer from Amazon for their Unlimited service for the first four months for 99 cents. I MIGHT take them up on it just because it is so cheap, but wouldn't continue. All of these monthly media services vying for your money and it adds up quickly.
 
For a lesson in remedial math.

Apple exceeded 60 million with a growth of 50% from a beginning base of 40 million for a net of 20 million
Spotify exceeded 100 million with a growth of 25% from a beginning base of 80 million for a net of 20 million
Amazon reached 32 million with a growth of 70% from a beginning base of 18.8 million for a net of 13.2 million


its not tricky, its math!
 
crApazon gave me a free, 30-day trial to this service. Even with a Soundblaster ZxR and excellent headphones, it sounded like :poop: - this on a classical piece which are usually very well recorded.

I dropped it right there without using any more time in the free trial.

IMO, its a waste of time and money.
 
An older user base is not necessarily a good thing; they die sooner (not tongue in cheek). This is the reason every brand chases a younger audience, because they likely don't have any brand loyalties yet - and once you have them and establish that loyalty, they're relatively easy[-ier] to keep [than trying to capture new customers].

The fact Amazon's users are older is not a good thing in my book. Meanwhile, Spotify added 20 million subscribers to their platform, and Amazon added only 18 million (when they should already be on their platform).
 
Sometimes I feel like the only person who just wants my MP3's, no internet required and I can loadup whatever I want in minutes before I leave, I'm the same way with movies and tv shows.
 
Meh, I pay for YouTube Premium and it comes with Google Play Music and YouTube Music for free. It is a pretty great bundle deal.
 
An older user base is not necessarily a good thing; they die sooner (not tongue in cheek). This is the reason every brand chases a younger audience, because they likely don't have any brand loyalties yet - and once you have them and establish that loyalty, they're relatively easy[-ier] to keep [than trying to capture new customers].

The fact Amazon's users are older is not a good thing in my book. Meanwhile, Spotify added 20 million subscribers to their platform, and Amazon added only 18 million (when they should already be on their platform).
Older people are more loyal, while younger people will switch within a heart beat.
 
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