“World will be changed forever” as Amazon Music is launched in US
Amazon have launched their better-than-CD quality audio streaming plan called Amazon Music HD.
The streaming service starts at $12.99 a month and offers over 50 million tracks in either CD or 24-bit quality.
The way that this service differs from other streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play music is that those services only offer compressed files.
Amazon is one of a handful of companies that are able to offer high-quality FLAC streams.
Musician Neil Young, who launched the Pono player several years ago is excited that Amazon is embracing lossless audio.
"Earth will be changed forever when Amazon introduces high quality streaming to the masses," Young said in a statement. "This will be the biggest thing to happen in music since the introduction of digital audio 40 years ago."
The service costs $USD 12.99 a month for Prime members and $USD 14.99 a month for regular Amazon customers, or an additional $5 a month for current subscribers. Current memberships start at $7.99 a month. It's not yet offered in Australia or New Zealand.