A week on from Music Week’s exclusive interview with Amazon about free music streaming via Alexa, the service has now launched in the UK.

Amazon Music UK director Paul Firth has spoken about ambitions to build its subscriber base by introducing users with free access to streaming on smart speakers powered by Alexa. Premium subs are, of course, the music industry’s preferred model for growth.

Three months ago, Amazon Music joined YouTube Music in offering a limited free tier via voice control. The ad-supported service launched for US customers on Alexa-enabled devices who did not have a subscription or membership access to Prime Music.

From today (August 1), UK customers who do not have Prime membership or a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited will be able to listen to an ad-supported selection of top playlists (including Rap Rotation and Pop Culture) and stations for free on Alexa-enabled devices. Free users now have access to play a station based on a song, artist, era and genre.

Amazon is now reportedly the fastest-growing streaming service. 

Amazon Music and Alexa won in the new Consumer Innovation category at the Music Week Awards.

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