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Is Amazon's Music Unlimited service worth paying for, or is its free-with-Prime alternative option good enough?
Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.The Amazon Prime membership comes with access to Prime Music, a catalog of more than two million songs and thousands of curated playlists.For an additional $7.99 per month, you can upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited to unlock tens of millions more songs. Amazon Music adds new music daily, but note that songs are occasionally removed from the available selection as well. You can download music for offline listening, too.In a lot of ways, I'm kind of old school about things. I bemoaned the fact that a car we bought in 2018 didn't have a CD player. For some reason, it took me forever to adopt wireless headphones while jogging. And despite having used Amazon Prime for ordering everything from cat litter to batteries to mouth wash since 2006, I didn't start using Prime Music until last year even though I had access to it for years before that.Now that we do use Amazon Prime Music, I'm in hook, line, and sinker. No more do I miss the CD player in my car, because I have access to millions of songs through the Prime Music app on my phone.If you already have Amazon Prime, you have access to some two million songs via the basic version of Prime Music. You can also increase that number of songs by approximately 50 million songs if you pay an additional $7.99 a month for Prime Music Unlimited.When you use the Prime Music app on your phone, you can create playlists, download tunes for offline play (such as when you're on an airplane), and you can tune into thousands of pre-made playlists created by Amazon employees, lists like Top 50 Most Played or Music for Exercise.For the record, if you're one of the few people who doesn't have a Prime membership but does have an Amazon Echo in the house, you can enjoy free streaming music via Amazon's Alexa, albeit with occasional ads.How to use Amazon Prime Music on your computerLog into your Amazon account.Click the box with the three parallel lines at the top left corner of the screen.Click Amazon Music.You will now be directed to a home page curated just for your Amazon Music experience. Use the menu on the left side of the screen to create, access, or add to playlists, to search via album, artist, or genre, and to generally create the musical experience you want.Once a song is playing on Prime Music on your computer, you can pause, play, or skip tracks using controls at the top of the screen. The search bar at the top left will let you browse through all the many titles available. And of course, Amazon is all too happy to serve you countless suggestions there on the bulk of the page.How to use Amazon Prime Music on your phoneGo to the app store or Google Play store and download the Amazon Music app.Launch the app and then enter your Amazon login info (email and password on your Prime account, e.g.).Tap MY MUSIC at the bottom of the app to get to your customized home screen, where you'll see your playlists, from where you can create a new list, and where you can see the songs you (or anyone who shares the account) recently added music.The basic Play/Pause control will display at the bottom of the screen while your music is playing. To get more controls, such as skip ahead or back, the song's timeline, or the ability to shuffle or repeat, swipe up from the circle at the center bottom of the screen.Is Amazon Prime Music Unlimited worth the extra $7.99?For my money, which again is $7.99 per month, Amazon Prime Music Unlimited is worth it. I have yet to think of a song I wanted to hear that I could not find.My Unlimited subscription also dispelled one of the only major issues I had with the basic version of Prime Music: songs disappearing from the catalog. At least a few times a week, I'd find that a song from one of my playlists had vanished and was no longer available. Not a huge issue, but certainly a frustration.One other issue is that if you want to be able to play Prime Music on more than one device simultaneously, you need to upgrade your subscription. That or you and your SO can engage in a constant battle of brinksmanship as you strive for sonic supremacy.Sign up for Amazon Prime Music Unlimited for $7.99 a month. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime.What is Amazon Prime music?
Amazon Prime music is Amazon's foray into the music streaming jungle and a way for you to enjoy your music on and offline. It's got thousands of playlists, much like Apple Music and Spotify and you can skip as many times as you like or repeat as many times as you like. If you're already an Amazon Prime member, then you have no reason not to use Amazon Prime music, since it's already included with your membership. There's no additional cost to stream and, best of all, there's no additional cost to download music.
Once you have Amazon Prime music, though, you probably want to stream it through your entire house. That's where Sonos, Bose, and other connected speaker systems come in!
Where can I listen to my Amazon Prime music?
The Amazon Prime music app is available for iOS, Android, PC, and Mac (sorry, Windows Phone users).
If the device you're using can connect to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, then you can listen to your Amazon Prime Music on any wireless speaker system that supports either connection. For example, Sonos speakers connect via Wi-Fi and the Bose Soundtouch can use Bluetooth.
What speakers can I use to play Amazon Prime Music?
The short answer is: any speakers. The long answer is a bit more complex, but still the same.
If you have a bluetooth-enabled speaker of any kind, then you can play your Amazon Prime Music from any device with the ability to connect to Bluetooth.
If your current set of speakers do not have Bluetooth capability, you can upgrade them with a Bluetooth upgrade kit.
There are also Wi-Fi-enabled speakers, like those by Sonos, which initially run off your home Wi-Fi network. So, any device with Wi-Fi capability can play music through a Wi-Fi enabled speaker (for some speakers, like Sonos, you will need a specific app, which won't necessarily work with every Wi-Fi-enabled device).
Can I have one of these speakers in every room?
Not all Bluetooth or Wi-Fi-enabled speakers can be run off a wireless system. For that sort of integrated streaming, you'll need something like the following:
Sonos
Sonos speakers are wireless smart speakers that initially run on your home Wi-Fi network, but then create their own network, so as not to hog bandwidth.
The SonosNet (the mesh network that Sonos speakers create) allows for up to 32 components to be connected, so that you can stream music to literally every room in your house.
Bose SoundTouch
The Bose SoundTouch is another Wi-Fi enabled speaker, which runs off your home Wi-Fi and play the same song in every room of your home or play different songs in different zones. All you have to do is buy the speakers.
Through their app, you can access music streaming services, just like Sonos; however, the Soundtouch system also has Bluetooth, so if your device can't download the Bose app, but still has Bluetooth, you're golden.
Amazon Prime Music in your home
Depending on how you like your music, there are myriad options for streaming Amazon Prime Music throughout your home.
If you're just a small-speaker-in-one-room kind of person, then maybe all you need is a small Bluetooth speaker, like the Monster Superstar, for example.
If you like full, immersive sound, no matter where you are in your home, then you might want to check out Sonos. You could start small with a Play:1.
Any way you go, you'll want to pair the right set of speakers with your Amazon Prime Music. You'll probably want something wireless or at least with wireless capabilities, since you'll probably end up streaming from your phone.
Always remember to try before you buy! If you're shelling out hundreds of dollars for a set a speakers, you're going to want them to sound right to you.
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