Amazon Music Prime Adds Ads, Removes Downloads in India and Australia
Amazon is rolling out ads to Amazon Music Prime subscribers in India and Australia, making ad-free listening and offline downloads features of the paid Music Unlimited tier. This change mirrors Amazon Prime Video's strategy of introducing ads and pushing for upgrades to ad-free tiers. The article notes a strong negative subscriber reaction and Amazon's prior success in court defending ad introduction in Prime Video as a "benefit modification."
Key Takeaways
- Amazon Music Prime advertisements are rolling out in India and Australia, with offline downloads simultaneously removed.
- Users seeking ad-free listening and offline access must upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited, a separate paid subscription.
- Amazon previously implemented a similar strategy for Prime Video, introducing ads by default and later increasing the cost for ad-free viewing.
- A federal court ruled that adding ads to Prime Video was a "benefit modification," not a price increase, providing legal precedent for this music change.
- Amazon's advertising revenue reached $68.6 billion in 2025, a 22% year-over-year increase, supporting the company's focus on ad-supported models.
Why It Matters
This move signals Amazon's continued strategy to monetize previously included Prime benefits through advertising and tiered subscriptions, effectively unbundling past value. It demonstrates the company's willingness to leverage its large subscriber base for ad inventory, even at the cost of subscriber friction. Companies should monitor the ad load and potential opt-out pricing for Amazon Music, as these elements could foreshadow broader changes to other Prime media benefits and reinforce a pay-more-for-ad-free trend across streaming services.
Additional Context
Following notifications to Prime subscribers in India and Australia regarding the introduction of ads and removal of offline downloads for Amazon Music Prime, an Amazon spokesperson clarified that these changes apply exclusively to India (Android Authority, June 2026). However, both Digital Music News and What's Trending (June 2026) reported that Australian users also received identical notifications, leading to uncertainty regarding the geographic scope of the rollout. TechTimes (June 2026) notes that the changes, which require existing Prime members to pay more for previously included ad-free and downloadable music, have generated significant negative subscriber reaction. Many users, as reported by Mint (June 2026), have described the move as "greedy," given that they already pay for a Prime membership. WION (June 2026) highlights that North American subscribers are not currently affected, although this could change. The article from WION also states that Amazon Music Unlimited, the paid upgrade, will officially launch as a standalone product in India at Rs 299 per month for non-Prime members, or Rs 99 per month for Prime subscribers, with a six-month free trial initially offered to Prime members. This pricing structure positions Amazon Music Unlimited to be competitive with offerings from Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music in India, all priced around Rs 99 per month for individual ad-free plans.
Read full article at cord-cutters.gadgethacks.com
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