Amazon Unveils Prime Music-Its Answer To Spotify

Amazon has unveiled its streaming music service called Prime Music.

The service will be designed to compete with apps like Spotify, Pandora, and Beats Music - sort of.

Prime Music has a pretty weak music selection. As Peter Kafka at Re/code notes, you won't get songs from major labels until six months after they're released. It's missing music from the Universal Music Group, which is the biggest label out there.

Amazon says that Prime Music already has more than one million songs and that the service is ad-free. Access to Prime Music will be included with Amazon Prime memberships for free, while others will have to try it out through a 30-day free trial. A Prime membership is $99.

Amazon is pushing curated playlists as one of the service's biggest features. The company already has a lengthy list of playlists focusing on genres, moods, and compilations from specific artists.

It's unclear if Amazon's music service will be able to stand up to Spotify and Pandora-two services that already dominate the streaming music space. Regardless, it's a nice perk for those who are already paying for Amazon Prime.

The announcement comes just as Amazon is expected to unveil it's first smartphone next week.