Consumers will soon have another option to play Apple Music using voice command. Amazon on Friday announced that its Echo devices will support Apple Music starting Dec. 17, just in time for users to play and listen to their favorite Christmas tunes.
Apple Music On Amazon's Echo Devices
To start playing music on demand, users just need to connect their Apple Music account to their smart speaker in the Alexa app.
Echo users can use voice control to play specific albums, artists, and tracks as well as Apple's radio stations and curated playlists ad-free just like with other services, provided that they have enabled Alexa's Apple Music skill.
"Music is one of the most popular features on Alexa — since we launched Alexa four years ago, customers are listening to more music in their homes than ever before," said Amazon Devices senior vice president Dave Limp.
"We're thrilled to bring Apple Music — one of the most popular music services in the U.S. — to Echo customers this holiday."
Apple's music subscription service will join Pandora, iHearRadio, Spotify, and Amazon's own music service on Alexa device.
Impact On Spotify And Apple HomePod
The addition of support for Apple Music will most likely impact Spotify since it offers a similar service and for the same price.
Apple's own HomePod is also on the losing end in the arrangement, but Apple's decision suggests the increasing importance of recurring services revenue for the Cupertino-based company.
Apple apparently cares more about selling more Apple Music subscriptions than HomePods, whose sales have struggled because of its high price, limited features, and middling reviews.
The $9.99 music service currently has at least 50 million subscribers. Unlike Spotify and other music options, Apple Music does not have a free tier. It nonetheless offers a three-month free demo period.
Apple And Amazon
Apple and Amazon are competitors, but this recent development is an indication of good relations between the two companies. Amazon's announcement comes just two weeks after it revealed that it was working to place the latest Apple products on its digital shelves.
