A new feature in Amazon Music is rolling out in India, putting pressure on Spotify and YouTube India.
Amazon Music has been available in India since February 2018. For the last few years, it existed solely as Amazon Prime Music, not as a standalone subscription.
Major Updates To Subscription Plans
Amazon has officially restructured its audio streaming strategy by launching Amazon Music Unlimited in India, challenging its long-running Prime membership model with a distinct three-tiered ecosystem: Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon Music for Prime Members, and Amazon Free.
The new plan, already available in the US, offers premium music with ad-free listening, HD and spatial audio, and offline downloads. It offers free trials for both premium and non-premium members.
Amazon Music Unlimited
This newly rolled-out premium feature introduces a standalone subscription, allowing users to buy and use the music service on its own.
It costs ₹99 for prime members and ₹119 for non-prime members. This plan offers ad-free music, offline downloads, and studio-grade audio, including HD, Ultra HD, and Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio.
Amazon Music For Prime Members
While this feature is still included with standard Prime membership at no extra cost, this bundled tier is undergoing a major shift.
This feature includes advertisements and removes the offline download option, functioning primarily as an on-demand streaming tier.
Amazon Music Free
This feature will be launched soon in India. It is an entry-level tier that enables users to listen to a 100-million-song catalogue via an ad-supported format, with some restrictions on playback features.
Promotional Offers And Market Expansion
To fuel adoption of these new features and bring them to people, Amazon is rolling out introductory trials, such as a 6-month free trial for Prime Members of Amazon Music Unlimited. Non-Prime Members can claim a 3-month free trial before standard billing resumes.
According to Rishabh Gupta, the Head of Amazon Music India, the platform is aggressively expanding beyond its past Prime bundle to target India's fastest-growing paid streaming sector and directly compete with YouTube and Spotify.
Platform Enhancements And AI Features
AI-Powered Discovery
Amazon Music has entered its beta testing for its new-generation generative AI search tool powered by Alexa. It is currently rolling out to select unlimited subscribers to offer hyper-personalised music discovery and conversational playlists.
Content Diversification
This app has seen a 3x surge in podcast engagement, leading to exclusive partnerships, including the Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin's Ash Ki Baat Podcast.
Live Streaming
This music app has gone a step further in broadcasting major events like Stagecoach Festival and Primavera Sound directly to its listeners.
The premium Amazon Music Unlimited tier went live on June 2, 2026. This was also the day the standard bundled Prime Version shifted to include ads and to turn off offline downloads.
The completely free, ad-supported tier, Amazon Music Free, is slated to launch in July 2026 for non-Prime members.
