Amazon Music has raised prices for Unlimited in the U.S., but a non-audiobook ‘Standard’ option is available with smaller monthly costs. Photo Credit: Amazon Music
Another round of streaming price increases has arrived in the U.S. – this time from Amazon Music Unlimited. Like with Spotify’s bundling extravaganza, the move could have major royalty implications for songwriters and publishers.
The Amazon-owned streaming platform emailed customers about the pricing pivot and, wasting no time, updated its subscription options accordingly. Moving forward, Prime members will pay $10.99 monthly for Unlimited Individual (a $1 increase), against $11.99 monthly for non-Prime members. (Annually, Unlimited Individual’s price is rising from $99 to $109 for Prime members.)
Additionally, Amazon Music Unlimited Family’s price is jumping $3 to $19.99 per month and $30 annually to $199. Already in place for new subscribers, as mentioned, the increase will reach existing subscribers on their first billing date after March 5th, the company said.
It’ll be worth closely monitoring the move’s subscription consequences; DMN Pro actively tracks leading on-demand platforms’ subscribership in the U.S., where, at least for now, Apple Music is holding steady at $10.99 monthly for Individual.
Also important are the effects of Amazon Music’s broader subscription recalibration, referring specifically to the impact on songwriters and publishers.
As most are aware – especially following a clear-cut ruling yesterday – Spotify began aggressively embracing bundles (currently consisting of audiobooks and music, though that could change soon) in 2024 and is reaping substantial compositional royalty savings as a result.
That’s because “bundled” revenue is treated a lot differently than revenue from music-only plans under the Phonorecords IV determination; besides exploring the involved subject at length, DMN Pro has found that over 99% of Spotify’s U.S. subs are classified as bundles.
Consequently, Amazon Music raised eyebrows in November 2024 when it added a monthly audiobook to Unlimited at no additional cost – around the same time, albeit in 2023, that Spotify took its audiobook bundles to the next level.
And in December 2024, Amazon Music unveiled a sweeping “artist-centric” tie-up with Universal Music Group.
Now, the platform has eliminated all doubt by apparently separating the audiobook-equipped Unlimited plans from their “Amazon Music Standard” counterparts.
Notably, the email pertaining to the Amazon Music price increases doesn’t come right out and tell Prime-enrolled Unlimited subscribers that they can still pay $9.99 per month provided that they’re willing to part with audiobook access. Nor does the platform’s updated FAQ section appear to do so.
But the Amazon Music subscription-settings page rather clearly distinguishes between Unlimited and Standard, the latter of which looks to have the same pre-increase pricing for Family as well.
Especially with the mentioned Universal Music deal in place – UMPG recently opted for a direct agreement with Spotify as well – logic suggests that the Unlimited-Standard distinction will soon factor into Amazon Music’s stateside mechanicals.
As noted above, some 99% of Spotify’s own U.S. subscribers use plans classified as bundles – compared to about 20% for Amazon Music, according to DMN Pro data.