Amazon Music Unlimited's pricing just got a lot less compelling, at least for Prime members. Starting May 5th, Prime subscribers will pay $9 a month (up from $8) or $89 a year (up from $79) for Music Unlimited. That means Prime subscribers only get a dollar discount on Music Unlimited, as non-Prime users still pay $10 for the same service.
Additionally, Amazon will now charge $5 a month (up from $4) for its single-device Music plan. This affordable plan only allows you to stream music to a single device, like an Echo speaker.
The price hike was announced in an Amazon FAQ, though Amazon will probably alert customers by email in the coming weeks. I'm not sure what the company thinks it's doing here, as customers are already mad about the recent Amazon Prime price increase, which was supposed to help the company pay for perks like the Music Unlimited discount. (Just so you know, Amazon reported a 22% increase in sales throughout 2021.)
Now, Music Unlimited is still a decent deal for Prime members. Most music streaming services start at $10 a month, but Music Unlimited is just $9 if you have a Prime subscription. (That said, a family plan through Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music Premium is still a better deal.)
Now, if you're a Prime member who casually uses Amazon Music, this problem doesn't affect you. Prime members get access to about 2 million songs for free, but they have to pay for Music Unlimited to unlock Amazon's 90-million song catalog and high-res streaming options.