Can Prime music be downloaded?

What is Amazon Prime Music?

Amazon Prime Music is a streaming music service that comes included with an Amazon Prime membership, at no additional cost. It provides access to a catalog of over 2 million songs that can be streamed on-demand without any ads (1).

Prime Music allows Prime members to listen to curated Prime playlists and stations based on various genres, artists, eras and moods. Members can download songs, albums or playlists to the Amazon Music app for offline listening anytime, anywhere (2).

While Amazon Prime Music’s catalog is not as extensive as paid plans like Amazon Music Unlimited, it provides a solid music library covering top artists and hits across multiple genres. For many Prime members, Prime Music offers a convenient music streaming perk to complement their existing membership.

(1) https://www.amazon.com/music/i/faq

(2) https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/entertainment/what-is-amazon-music

Downloading Prime Music

One of the key features of Amazon Prime Music is the ability to download songs and albums for offline listening (source). This allows Prime members to listen to music from their Prime library even when they don’t have an internet connection. There are over 2 million songs available for download across various genres and time periods.

According to Amazon, Prime members can download music to their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets, as well as to computers. Downloaded songs and albums can then be played through the Amazon Music app without needing to stream them. This provides a seamless listening experience while offline, like on airplanes or other areas with no connectivity. Downloads are encrypted and only playable through the Amazon Music app.

Downloading Limits

Amazon Prime Music has limits on how many songs and albums you can download for offline listening. According to Amazon’s terms of service, Prime members can download up to 100 songs or albums at a time.

Downloaded songs are available offline for up to 30 days. After 30 days, any expired downloads will be automatically removed from your device. To keep listening offline, you’ll need to reconnect to the internet periodically (at least every 30 days) to renew your downloads and avoid having them deleted.

There is no limit to the total number of songs you can download over time – the 100 song cap is just per instance of downloading. So you can always go back online and refresh your Prime Music downloads with up to 100 more songs every 30 days.

Downloading Process

The process for downloading music from Amazon Prime is straightforward using either the mobile app or website. Here are the steps:

Using the mobile app:

1. Open the Amazon Music app and find the song, album or playlist you want to download.
2. Tap the download button next to the content.
3. The content will begin downloading and appear in My Music > Downloads when complete.

Using the Amazon Music website:

1. Go to music.amazon.com and browse or search for content.
2. Click the download button next to songs, albums or playlists.
3. A download manager will appear showing download progress.
4. Downloaded content will be accessible in My Music > Downloads after completing.

The mobile app and website both provide seamless downloading. The advantage of using the website is the ability to download multiple songs or albums simultaneously through the download manager.

Playback of Downloads

Amazon Prime Music downloads have restrictions and DRM protections for playback. After downloading, Prime Music is only playable on authorized Amazon devices logged into your account, including Amazon Echo speakers, Fire tablets, Kindle e-readers, and the Amazon Music mobile app on iOS and Android. Songs downloaded from Prime Music cannot be transferred off your personal devices or played on non-Amazon devices due to DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Prime Music downloads are encrypted with DRM protections to restrict usage to the account holder. According to ViWizard, Amazon utilizes its own DRM scheme rather than industry standards like Apple’s FairPlay DRM. This prevents transferring Prime Music downloads to other music players. While it is technically possible to strip the DRM from Prime Music with specialized software, this violates Amazon’s terms of service.

Downloading Playlists

One of the key features of Amazon Prime Music is the ability to download entire playlists for offline listening (Source 1). This makes it easy to save all your favorite songs and albums to your device so you can listen anywhere without an internet connection.

Downloaded Prime Music playlists can be accessed through the Prime Music app on mobile devices or the Amazon Music app on desktop. Playlists download in the background so you can still use other apps while it completes. The number of playlists you can download depends on the available storage space on your device.

A major advantage with Prime Music playlists is that you can edit the downloaded versions. This means you can add or remove tracks from the offline playlist without needing to be connected to the internet. The edits will sync back to the master playlist next time your device goes online. Being able to customize playlists on-the-go makes Amazon Prime Music very flexible for offline listening (Source 2).

Listening Offline

One of the key benefits of Amazon Prime Music is the ability to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening ^[1]. This allows Prime members to access their music library even without an internet connection, which is perfect for situations like airplane travel or areas with poor connectivity.

To listen offline, Prime members can download up to 100 songs or playlists using the Amazon Music app ^[2]. Once downloaded, the songs and playlists are available in the “My Music” section of the app and can be accessed without an internet connection. Playback works seamlessly, allowing users to listen to music uninterrupted even when switching into Airplane mode.

Offline listening ensures Amazon Prime Music libraries are always available on-the-go. This key feature makes Prime Music a versatile option for music fans who want access to their collection anytime, anywhere.

Library Management

Managing your downloaded Prime Music content is easy through the mobile app or desktop site. You can view all downloaded content in the “Offline Music” section of your library. From there, you can delete individual songs or entire albums that you no longer wish to keep downloaded by pressing the More Options menu next to each title and selecting Delete Download.

According to Amazon’s Music Help documentation, “To ensure your Playlists sync across devices, make sure to manage them while selecting “Online Music” under Library. Changes made under “Offline Music” won’t sync across your other registered devices” (source). So when deleting downloads, be sure to do so from the Online Music section to keep your library in sync.

You can also manage your downloads by opening the Amazon Music app and going to Settings > Storage & Downloads. Here you can see how much storage space your downloads are taking up and delete any you no longer need.

Audio Quality

Amazon Prime Music allows you to download songs at up to 256 kbps bitrate in the MP3 format. This is a fairly standard bitrate for MP3 music files. By comparison, streaming quality on Prime Music is limited to 128 kbps.

So downloading Prime songs allows you to get double the audio bitrate compared to streaming. This results in improved audio quality with richer detail, especially in the higher frequency ranges. The difference may not be hugely noticeable on some speakers or headphones, but is discernible on high-end audio gear.

Of course, 256 kbps is still compressed audio. For true CD-quality lossless audio, services like Amazon Music HD allow downloads up to 850 kbps. But 256 kbps MP3 is decent quality for casual listening and portability. Downloading at this bitrate allows you to take full advantage of Prime Music’s catalog when offline.

In summary, downloading Prime songs gives you twice the bitrate and noticeably better audio quality versus streaming. But for audiophiles seeking lossless CD-quality music, higher bitrate options are only available on Amazon’s premium music tiers.

Source: https://www.drmare.com/amazon-music/download-amazon-prime-music-to-computer.html

Summary

To summarize, Amazon Prime members can download music from Prime Music for offline listening. There is a download limit of 100 songs or playlists, but this provides flexibility to listen offline or manage storage on your device. Downloading Prime music enables members to play songs without an internet connection, save on mobile data when offline, build customized playlists to match their preferences, and access their music library anywhere at any time. While there are some restrictions like the 100 download cap, overall the ability to download Prime Music is a useful benefit of the service.