Amazon stops charging extra for lossless music as Apple enters the fray

Faced with new competition from Apple, Amazon today announced that it will no longer charge an added fee for the “HD” tier of Amazon Music that lets customers stream audio at CD quality and above. From now on, lossless audio will be available to all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers at no extra charge. Billboard was first to report the development.

This makes Amazon the first company to offer lossless music at the industry’s standard $9.99 subscription rate. Amazon Music Unlimited is even cheaper ($7.99 per month) for Prime customers. And yes, the high-quality audio will also now be available for customers paying that price. Family plans are eligible for Amazon Music HD at no added cost, but student plans are exempt. Before Amazon...

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