Amazon's streaming platform Music Unlimited has arrived

Earlier this summer, it was rumoured that mega-online retailer Amazon might soon be branching into the streaming realm with their own contender to pair with their Echo device, a smart voice-controlled speaker.

Now, Amazon Music Unlimited has officially arrived.

Though Amazon Prime (paid premium option) members already have access to a seemingly wide catalogue for streaming directly on Amazon's website (approximately two million tracks), Music Unlimited supposedly will provide "tens of millions" of songs to subscribers.

The service will cost Amazon Prime members an extra $7.99 per month or $79 for a year, while non-Prime members will pay $9.99 per month, a price-matched tag against competitors Spotify and Apple Music. For those who own an Amazon Echo, the service will cost only $3.99 per month for one device.

Despite the fact that Prime is a paid appendix of Amazon ($99 per year), the platform hopes that people will see the music offered with Prime as the "introductory service" and allow Music Unlimited to be the full service.

Amazon Music Unlimited has launched in the United States as of today (October 12) and will be available in the UK, Germany and Austria later this year.

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here