Amazon is once again adjusting its pricing, this time for its Music Unlimited subscriptions. As first noticed by The Hollywood Reporter, the changes particularly affect Prime members and those on family plans. The monthly fee for the Amazon Music Unlimited Individual Plan for Prime users will now be $10, up from $9, and the yearly rate jumps from $89 to $99. Likewise, the Family Plan increases by a dollar, from $16 to $17 per month, with the annual price changing from $159 to $169.
These new prices are effective immediately for new subscribers. However, current users will enjoy the existing rates until September 19. Amazon’s rationale for the increase? They aim to deliver “even more content and features.” Well, thanks for that, Amazon.
Interestingly, this is not the inaugural price hike for Music Unlimited in the current year. Earlier in January, students and non-Prime subscribers faced an upward revision, and Prime members experienced a separate hike last year. To put it in perspective, in slightly over a year, Prime members have seen a surge from $8 to $10 monthly. We’d hope that means a significant upgrade in content and features.
Amazon is not alone in this trend. Most streaming giants have upped their prices recently. YouTube Premium transitioned from $12 to $14 per month, Apple’s music and TV services saw price hikes, Tidal adjusted its rates, and Spotify’s subscription now costs $11, a dollar more than before. And there’s more: streaming platforms like Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu, and Max have all followed suit, presumably in pursuit of delivering “new content and features.”
On a related note, for every million streams on Amazon Music Unlimited, artists receive roughly $5,000. This rate is comparable to what Apple Music and Spotify offer. Ideally, artists would get a larger share of these increased subscription fees, as they are the backbone of the content on these platforms. Unfortunately, reality often strays from the ideal.
