Amazon Music Unlimited now has a discount for impoverished students

It’s the time of year again when students head back to their hallowed halls of learning, and retail outlets the country over make an extra-special effort to sell them things. Back-to-school normally also brings some new promotions for students, and Amazon is making now exception for its digital offerings.

Amazon Music Unlimited, Amazon’s streaming music rival to Spotify and Apple Music, is now $5 a month for students. That’s a worthwhile discount over the $8 a month it is for Prime customers, and 50% off the $10 a month that regular non-Amazon-lovers get charged.

Amazon Music Unlimited has always seemed like a bit of an afterthought, a “me-too” lite version of Spotify and Apple Music. It doesn’t have the iPhone hook-in that Apple can leverage, and it can’t match Spotify’s quality of apps or exclusive music.

But for people who just want to listen to a good (not comprehensive) collection of stuff on one or two easy devices, it’s a good and cheap alternative to Spotify. If you’ve got an Amazon Echo, it works flawlessly with that, and that’s likely what Amazon is hoping for here.

Amazon Music Unlimited pricing is now right on par with Spotify and Apple Music for students. Amazon has become increasingly competitive with its digital offerings in the last year, releasing big-name original shows like Man In The High Castle to Amazon Video, and just today, it finally added multi-room music support to the Echo system.