Amazon Music said on Tuesday that it had launched Amazon Music HD – a new tier of high quality, lossless audio offering over 50 million songs in High Definition and millions of songs in Ultra High Definition. Amazon Music HD is now available in Germany, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Amazon shares closed higher for the sixth time in the past eleven trading sessions on NASDAQ on Tuesday. The stock went up 0.81% ($14.71) to $1,822.55, after touching an intraday high at $1,823.86 and an intraday low at $1,803.79.
Shares of Amazon.com Inc have surged 21.34% so far in 2019 compared with a 19.90% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).
In 2018, Amazon’s stock went up 28.43%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.
Amazon Music HD will cost as little as $12.99 per month for new subscribers and an additional $5 per month for existing customers beside their regular plan fee, Amazon said. Current memberships are priced at as little as $7.99 per month.
Through Amazon Music HD, users will be able to listen to over 50 million lossless HD songs having a bit depth of 16 bits and a sample rate of 44.1kHz (or CD quality). Additionally, customers will be able to stream millions more Ultra HD songs having a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate of up to 192 kHz, or audio performance that apparently exceeds CD quality.
Amazon Music HD is compatible with a wide range of devices such as desktop, iOS and Android as well as certain Echo devices, Fire TV and Fire Tablets, the company said.
“We spoke with many artists while developing Amazon Music HD, who were excited about the potential for fans to be able to stream their favorite music, and hear it as it was originally recorded,” Steve Boom, Vice President of Amazon Music, said in a statement.
“From rock to hip-hop to classical and pop, we believe listening to music at this level of sound will make customers fall in love again with their favorite music and artists. As we usher in a new listening experience for our customers and the industry, we’re combining the convenience of streaming with all of the emotion, power, clarity and nuance of the original recordings,” Boom added.
“Earth will be changed forever when Amazon introduces high quality streaming to the masses,” musician Neil Young said in a statement, cited by cnet.com.
“This will be the biggest thing to happen in music since the introduction of digital audio 40 years ago,” he said.
Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation
According to CNN Money, the 42 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Amazon.com Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $2,262.50, with a high estimate of $2,615.00 and a low estimate of $2,080.00. The median estimate represents a 24.14% upside compared to the closing price of $1,822.55 on September 17th.
The same media also reported that at least 42 out of 47 surveyed investment analysts had rated Amazon.com Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 1 – as “Hold”.
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