Amazon adds new Prime perks: Free access to Amazon Channels and Audible

Amazon is adding even more perks to Prime Membership — this time involving a service from another company it owns: Audible.

Read more: Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program might actually cost you more money

Free audio content for Amazon Prime members

According to the technology website TechCrunch, the new service called Audible Channels “features a mix of bite-sized, ad-free content from original content producers, as well as spoken-word recordings from publishers like the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Foreign Affairs, Charlie Rose, McSweeney’s, The Onion, and other periodicals.” .

Amazon says these audio programs are not podcasts, per se, but they are formatted much like podcasts — just shorter.

In addition, Prime Members will be able to access a rotating selection of 50 or so audiobooks from Audible.

For non-Prime members, the cost for the new service is $4.95 per month, or $59.40 per year, and access to Audible Channels is available through the Audible app for iOS, Android, and Windows 10.

What do you get with Amazon Prime?

Not only is Amazon offering Audible Channels to its approximately 63 million Prime Members, but Prime Members also get to take advantage of these perks:

• Free two-day shipping
• Instant access to Amazon’s video service
• Unlimited music steaming to millions of songs
• Audible Channels — Original audio series from Amazon
• Free unlimited photo storage
• Early access to select Amazon Lightning Deals
• Free access to over 800,000 Kindle eBooks through the Lending Library (1 per month)

Whether or not Prime makes sense for your budget is ultimately up to you and your individual needs. Clark has said in the past that Amazon has become more about convenience versus getting the very best deal.

For those who want to find out if it’s for them, Amazon offers a free two-month trial of Amazon Prime to anyone who has not tried Prime before. However, if you end up not liking Amazon Prime, you’ll want to be sure to cancel before the trial period ends.

Audible Channels is yet another way Amazon is attempting to stand out in the market and keep existing Prime Members happy with new offerings.

Read more: Is Amazon Prime worth it?

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