Amazon Jacks Prime Fee to $99

After a suspenseful couple of months, Amazon announced today that it will be upping its Amazon Prime fee—but, hey, it could be worse. The $79 rate will jump to $99 after the company initially announced a $40 increase was possible back in January, the Wall Street Journal reports. Existing members will pay the new fee when their annual renewal date comes around, but for those looking for a bargain, new customers can sign up for a one-year membership at the original $79 fee until next week. The Prime Fresh membership fee will stay put at $299, TechCrunch notes. Meanwhile, a separate WSJ piece adds Amazon is in negotiations to add music streaming to Prime's TV show, movie, and Kindle library. (More Amazon Prime stories.)