This one slipped under my radar, but I figured I should mention it anyway for those unaware. At some point in September, Amazon flipped a switch that enabled Prime Music Stations on the current software version of Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks. This was not added in conjunction with a software update, but rather just turned on later. My Fire TV running version 51.1.5.3 does not have Prime Music Stations, but my Fire TV running version 51.1.6.3 does, so at some point in between those two version it was added but left disabled until later. Prime Music Stations are similar to radio stations, but you can vote songs up or down to tailor the station to your liking. You can learn more from my overview of the feature when it was added to the Fire OS 5 Developer Preview a few months ago.

Amazon has announced that, starting today, Prime Music will now include select albums from Universal Music Group. This deal with UMG fills a large gap in Amazon’s Prime music library. Some of the artists coming to Prime music through the UMG deal are Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Lana Del Rey, Maroon 5, Of Monsters and Men, Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, Ellie Goulding, Drake, Lorde, Jessie J and Eminem. Other new content coming to Prime music includes music from Kanye West, The Rolling Stones, and Lady Antebellum. Only select songs and Albums from the newly added artists will be available. Amazon’s 6 month delay between an album’s release and its appearance on Prime music still applies to these newly added artists.

Amazon has been regularly expanding the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick’s music capabilities. A music section was added to the Fire TV a couple months after the device’s launch, giving users access to their uploaded and purchased music. Coinciding with the release of the Fire TV Stick, we saw the addition of Prime Music on both devices, but you initially could only play Prime music which you first explicitly added to your music library via Amazon’s website. It wasn’t until the addition of Prime Music Playlists that users gained access to a wider selection of Prime Music through the Fire TV. Now Amazon is adding even more music options with the addition of Prime Music Stations, which let you select an artist or genre from which you want to hear related music. Read more ›