February 28, 2017 | Posted in MUSIC | By Jason Sositko
I have not been a fan of streaming music over the years. Paying a fee for the right to listen to, but not own the music never appealed to me. The Amazon Unlimited Music Service changed that perception.
Also, streaming via other services in the past has been average to poor sound quality for my tastes, that was at least 6 years ago.
I have for years been an Amazon prime member, and that membership is a serious no-brainer. The FREE 2 day shipping alone pays the $99 a year fee every Christmas season.
They also allow you a certain amount of free TV, movies, and music to stream. But with Prime Music it seamed almost anything I really wanted to listen to was not available.
My negative view changed when I started dabbling with the Amazon Music App playing music I had purchased in the past. I quickly realized that the sound quality was not nearly as bad as I assumed, in fact, it was quite good. Then Amazon offered a free trial for 30 days for the unlimited music service, then you’d pay $7.99/$9.99 a month there after.
I thought, why not give the service a shot for the 30 days? Within a few days I realized this was a pretty good deal. Also I discovered you could actually download music on to the iPod App for OFF LINE listening. This sealed the deal for me. Amazon states 10’s of Millions of songs are available, not just the 2 Million with the regular Prime.
Even though you can’t download straight to your PC, or make copies of the music, the music IS on the Application and can be listened to any time via the off-line music mode you access in the settings. Of course music downloaded on the Amazon Music App counts against your music device storage space. You can easily delete or add music at your leisure.
You can also add to what they call “My Music” that’s not downloaded, so you have a quick list to bring up for music for streaming, you can add anything as you browse. You must have an internet connection to listen to the “My Music” that you don’t download to the app.
My listening tastes are very broad, from Blues, jazz, rock, country, and many other sub-genres. So far, 2 months of using the app there has been very little I have searched for that wasn’t available. Even new releases like Metallica’s Hadrwired… to Self Destruct was available on release day.
Most major labels of classic jazz are available like Columbia/Sony, Blue Note, Verve, Impulse, and other boutique jazz catalogues. Only the ECM label seemed to not be available on the service. A bummer not having ECM, but, with so much available I will be a busy man, as long as the price stays 7.99 a month for Prime Members. Honestly, I’d probably pay more if I had to.
Cons:
- You don’t own the music, so you can NOT get it on iTunes for instance. And if one of the labels leaves the program the music would as well. For instance, the ECM jazz label is not available. Also one progressive rock band King Crimson is not available either.
Pros:
- The amount of music! It’s like a kid on Christmas morning. I couldn’t believe the amount music available, over 10 Million Songs! So much jazz, and 80’s rock and metal that I don’t think I will ever run out of music to listen to. Plus new releases.
- The Price: $7.99 is pretty cheap for what you get. You can also get a deal paying for a years worth at once ($79 a year). They also have family plans available at $14.99 Mo. $149 yearly.
- You can use this on Amazon Echo as well.
If you are a music freak I wholeheartedly endorse this program
Music is the one real hobby I have, being a freelance writer who writes about the music, and being a 27 year guitar player I can not think of anything negative here. I suppose if you only have a passing interest in music, you might not want this service. I mean, if you’re only going to be on the app once in a while you won’t get your monies worth.
I am spending so much time adding new music, I don’t think I’ll be getting back to iTunes anytime soon. Sure I have go-to music I’ll get back to, but this service is about discovering new music, and believe me, you will.
You’d be crazy not to try Amazon Music Unlimited for a free month for yourself.
How does Amazon Music’s mobile iOS App perform?
They do seem to update the app regularly, so any minor issues seem to be addressed in short order. I have had ZERO issues using the app in the past 2 years. My entire experience has been with the Mobile iOS version.
The Paid Unlimited Music has played with the app without issue, and as mentioned, I have been impressed with the sound quality.
I use the iPod Touch 6th Gen with iOS 10.2 and the Photive on ear Bluetooth wireless headphones.
Note: I was NOT paid for this review, I was NOT given the free month for a review. I am currently paying the $7.99 monthly fee for the service and this is my true and honest review of my experience. I have now paid for the service 3 months in a row and I do indeed like the value.
If you click one of the affiliate links that take you off site, I could earn a small commission for any purchase you make on that site.
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Jason Sositko
Jason Sositko, a freelance writer and entrepreneur is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I also use services such as Viglink and Skimlinks to earn income via links placed inside articles.
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