Amazon and Google announce free Amazon Music and YouTube Music streaming for Alexa and Google Home devices respectively

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Amazon and Google are feeling friendly this week. Just days after finally settling their streaming device feud, the companies are offering free versions of their music services for smart speakers. Amazon Music can be used for free on Alexa devices and YouTube Music can be used for free on Google Home devices.

Both companies are doing essentially the same thing. Amazon Music can be used for free with ads, sort of like Pandora. You simply ask for something like “play 80s music” and it will find a matching station. If you already have Amazon Prime you get Amazon Music Unlimited, which doesn’t have ads.

YouTube Music also now has a free, ad-supported version for Google Home devices. Similarly to Amazon’s feature, you can give a command like “play Latin vibes” and YouTube will find a station. This is basically the same as how Google Play Music’s free tier currently works. You can’t ask for specific albums or songs on either Amazon Music or YouTube Music’s free offering.

Amazon Music’s free tier is available to users in the US. YouTube Music’s free tier is available in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, and Austria. This is a great option for those who don’t need a premium music service.

Source: YouTube Source: Amazon