Amazon Music Unlimited is getting even more unlimited
Following the much anticipated, closely analyzed launch of Amazon in Australia, the company is finally gearing up to introduce Amazon Music to the country.
Set to launch in Australia and New Zealand on Feb. 1, Amazon Music Unlimited will become available with a catalogue of more than 45 million songs.
Feb. 1 also marks the shipping date for Australia and New Zealand's first Alexa-powered Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Plus devices. Preorders begin today. Amazon announced the coming of its hands-free device, activated by smart voice assistant Alexa, to both countries in November.
You can expect pretty much the same product already enjoyed in countries like the U.S. and the UK. Listeners will be able to ask the Echo to play music from Amazon Music's most popular and trending artists, with the old, "Alexa, play the 'Top Australian Pop' station," or "Alexa, play the ‘Divas Down Under’ playlist" — a selection of notable female artists from Australia and New Zealand.
The biggest local competitors for the service will be Spotify, Apple Music, and Google Play Music.
Amazon Music Unlimited will launch with three monthly plan options: the full access Echo Plan at AU$4.99, the Individual Plan at AU$11.99, or the Family Plan, coming soon, in which up to six people can share a subscription for AU$17.99.
Alexa will come embedded with skills from international companies with a local presence, like Uber, Spotify, Philips Hue, LIFX, and more. In Australia, Alexa will utilize information from companies like Sky News Australia, Fox Sports, Qantas, and Coastalwatch.
Developers will be able to build localized voice experiences and embed uniquely Australian and New Zealand knowledge within Alexa with the expansion of the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) — a collection of self-service APIs — and the Alexa Voice Service (AVS).
The Echo will find a direct competitor with the Google Home, already available in Australia and New Zealand. But with Alexa ready and able with 15,000 skills by now, it could prove a formidable opponent. The Echo has been priced at AU$149, which is between $20-40 cheaper than what some major retailers are selling the Google Home for.
For keen beens Down Under, here are 10 things you can do with your Echo when it finally arrives in February.
Topics Alexa Amazon Amazon Alexa Amazon Echo Music
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
