Amazon is hoping to get more people using its Prime Music service with the rollout of a new feature called Prime Stations.
Currently for iOS devices only, Prime Stations is a Pandora-like streaming service that autoplays multiple tracks based on a user’s music tastes. A radio session can be kicked off by selecting a music genre or favorite artist.
The new feature, which is ad free and lets you skip through tracks as many times as you like, is part of the company’s paid-for Prime service, which offers a slew of additional benefits.
As with similar music streaming services, Prime Stations lets you tap on a thumbs-up or thumbs-down button depending on whether or not you like the song, with each evaluation going towards improving subsequent track suggestions. In addition, any songs that takes your fancy on Prime Stations can be easily pushed across to your Prime library.
The update also introduces a refreshed, cleaner design, which Amazon says brings an improved browsing experience as you search through your music library for tracks to play.
Prime Music also gives users unlimited access to more than a million tracks – admittedly not a lot when you compare that to, say, Spotify’s database of 20 million – and lets you seek out ready-made playlists or make your own.
The e-commerce giant launched Prime Music last summer, adding another layer of service for Prime members, who, for $99 a year, also have access to free two-day shipping, unlimited movies and TV shows, and around half a million e-books.
While Prime Music may not be the main reason users cough up $99 a year for Amazon Prime, having it added to the service’s current offerings at least brings a little more value for money. And as the company continues gradually improving Prime Music with more features and content, there may well come a time when music fans really take notice and start looking at exactly how it stacks up against rival services.
[Amazon Prime Music on iTunes]
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