The Amazon Music Roku app brings Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited to the Roku, letting users stream their saved playlists, songs, and albums, browse personalized recommendations, and access the tracks that users have stored in the now-retired Amazon Music Storage cloud.
Highlights of the Amazon Music Roku app:
- Song lyrics are displayed on-screen while a song is playing
- Playlist, album, song, and station recommendations based on your music preferences
- Browse top playlists, top albums, top songs, and top stations
- Browse new playlists, albums, and songs
- Select music recently added or played from any device
- Browse "My Music" by artist, album, playlist, genre, and song
- Search for albums, artists, songs, and playlists
Amazon Music is a benefit of Amazon Prime Membership and includes a growing collection of 2 million songs, streamed ad-free and on-demand. Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptions are available with or without a Prime membership (see Fees section below) and include a much larger music library with tens of millions of songs. But you will need one of these subscriptions to stream any music on this app - there is no free music available on this app. When you first launch the channel you will be prompted link your Amazon account to the Amazon Music channel (see instructions at the end of this review).
After linking the Roku app to your Amazon account, the Amazon Music app's home screen offers several ways to browse the music library: Personal recommendations are provided under Playlists Just for You, Albums Just for You, Stations Just for You, and Playlists Just for You. You can also browse Top Playlists, Top Albums, Top Songs, and Top Stations; and New Playlists, New Albums, and New Songs. (There was no "New Stations" list at the time of this review, which may just be because no there are no recently-created stations.)
Under "Recents" in the apps top menu bar, you'll find the albums, playlists, and stations that you recently played on this app and on other devices. Songs are not included under "Recently Played" but are shown in "Recents" only if you added them to My Music. Those songs are shown under "Recently Added," which curiously doesn't show albums, playlists, or stations that were recently added to My Music. Also, if you're a heavy user, you may be annoyed that your "recents" are not categorized, but are shown in the order played.
But if you really want to come back to something, you should be adding to My Music anyway. Be warned, though, that you can add to "My Music" only through Amazon Music apps on other devices. Also, this app is first-generation for providing access to Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, so let's be grateful for all the bells and whistles that are provided.
How to link the Amazon Music Roku app to your Amazon account
- If the Amazon Music Roku app is not already installed on your Roku device, go to Streaming Channels >> Search Channels from your Roku's home screen and search for "Amazon Music".
- Go to amazon.com/code on a computer or mobile device and log into your Amazon account.
- Enter the code shown in the Amazon Music Roku app. (This code is good for only a short time. If the code doesn't work, go to your Roku device and generate a new code.)
- The Amazon Music app will automatically refresh with your music library and personalized recommendations after the linking code is accepted.
-- Information is current as of February 19, 2019
Developer's Channel Description: Find and play the music you love on Roku. Enjoy a curated catalog of two million songs, playlists, and stations with Prime Music, always ad-free and included with your Prime membership. Unlock tens of millions of songs with Amazon Music Unlimited.
CHANNEL STORE CATEGORY: Music
DEVELOPER: Amazon
FEES:
The Amazon Music Roku app is free, but you cannot stream any music through it unless you are an Amazon Prime member or subscribe to Amazon Music Unlimited. The following plans and rates are current as of June 28, 2018, but subject to change. Follow the links below to confirm current pricing and availability.
- Amazon Music is included with Amazon Prime membership, currently $119.00 per year after a 30-day free trial. A discounted $5.99/month plan is available for qualifying customers in select U.S. government assistance programs such as holders of the EBT card.
- Amazon Music Unlimited Individual plan is $7.99/month or $79/year for Prime members, or $9.99/month for non-Prime members.
- Amazon Music Unlimited Family plan (up to six family members and simultaneous devices) is $14.99/month for everyone, or $149/year for Prime members.
RELATED LINKS:
Amazon Prime Music Website
Amazon Music Unlimited Website
