Amazon Music is continuing its steamrolling push into the modern music landscape. The company has hired Nathan Brackett as its new head of editorial. Brackett was most recently executive editor for Rolling Stone, and he’d been with the music magazine since 1996. Continue Reading
According to Cowen & Co., Amazon Prime’s U.S. membership is about 49.5 million people. The third-party analysis is based on a panel of 2,500 U.S. consumers, since Amazon has not explicitly shared its Prime data. Continue Reading
Amazon Music Unlimited has made its first international expansion. This new streaming subscription from the tech conglomerate has landed in the UK and is slated to launch in Germany and Austria later today. Continue Reading
Amazon has launched its new streaming music program. Carrying the name of Amazon Music Unlimited, the new service is muscling into the crowded territory with a unique integration with its existing home technology. The company was expected to have some interesting ties to its Amazon Echo voice-activated wireless speaker and it has delivered on that front. Continue Reading
Playster has inked licensing deals for its planning streaming music revamp with Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and The Orchard. B2B music specialists 7digital will be powering the redesigned platform. Continue Reading
Amazon will roll out its voice-controlled Echo speaker to three new markets: the UK, Germany, and Austria. It is expected to launch in the additional nations on Sept. 28. The BBC reported that a reason for the delayed rollout beyond the U.S. was to ensure that the Echo speakers could support local accents. Continue Reading
Sonos announced that it is adding some third-party app integrations to its wireless speaker products. Most intriguingly, one of the first partnerships for app support is with Amazon. People who have both Sonos speakers and one of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices – the Echo or Echo Dot – can now use the Amazon voice-controlled product to operate their Sonos system. Continue Reading
Amazon has been showing interest in launching a standalone streaming music service for months, but according to the latest reports, the tech giant won’t be happy with just one. Amazon appears to be considering two services: one that would match the industry standard of unlimited on-demand access for $10 a month; the other would be half the price and would only work on the company’s Echo home speaker hardware. Continue Reading
Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web: Amazon Q2 results stay strong; Apple’s Services revenue on the rise; Apple vs Spotify. Continue Reading
New research from Cowen explores the current state of the streaming music industry and gave forecasts for its future. Spotify and Amazon emerged as two of the top brands to watch. The data predicted a compound annual growth rate of 4% for the 2016-2021 period, with on-demand music services expected to double revenue and secure a 40% share of the industry by 2021. Continue Reading
Audible has added a new subscription option called Channels that focuses on short-form audio content. The subscription includes original shows from Audible alongside and news and shows from publishers such as The Wall Street Journal, The Onion, and Scientific American. Continue Reading
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gave a speech about business competition with some pointed remarks about three of the top tech companies in the U.S. She criticized Google, Apple, and Amazon for using their size and clout to limit inroads from other companies, particularly smaller upstarts. Continue Reading