Amazon Prime members will get access to 100 million ad-free songs

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Amazon is giving Prime members access to 100 million songs without ads, the company announced on Tuesday.

Prime customers will also have access to an expanded library of podcasts, which will include content from CNN, The New York Times and NPR, as well as from the podcasting company Wondery, which Amazon purchased in 2020.

The expanded library comes after Amazon increased the price of a Prime subscription to $139 per year from $119.

While the library of ad-free music has increased substantially, customers will not be able to select individual songs. Instead, they will have to shuffle artists, albums and playlists. A separate option will allow members to download "All-Access" playlists for offline listening.

The expanded library puts Amazon Prime in direct competition with Apple Music, which recently increased its subscription fee to $10.99 a month from $9.99, and Spotify, which is considering a subscription price hike.

"We continue to innovate on behalf of our customers, and to bring even more entertainment to Prime members, on top of the convenience and value they already enjoy," Vice President of Amazon Music Steve Boom said.