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Amazon gets ready to take on Spotify and Apple Music

Amazon is currently finalising deals with major record labels as it prepares to launch its&n...
Newstalk
Newstalk

13.59 13 Jun 2016


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Amazon gets ready to take on S...

Amazon gets ready to take on Spotify and Apple Music

Newstalk
Newstalk

13.59 13 Jun 2016


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Amazon is currently finalising deals with major record labels as it prepares to launch its own standalone music streaming service.

Reuters has reported that the subscription service aiming to rival the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal will be offered at $9.99 per month and boast an expansive catalogue of songs.

Amazon already offers a free streaming music service with a limited catalogue of songs to people who have subscribed to its Prime shipping and video service. 

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The standalone service is likely to launch later this summer or in early autumn, according to Reuters sources.

Despite being a late entrant to the market, the company will be hoping music lovers will be attracted to the overall Amazon package and see the retailer as a "one-stop shop" for not only goods, but entertainment content.

The service will also tie in with its new Echo home speaker, which allows users to search and order products with voice commands.

Former music executive Jay Samit told Reuters:

"A music service will further increase the daily interactions between Amazon and its customer base."

It will take something special to overthrow Spotify's dominance. The Swedish company passed the 30 million subscriber mark in late March. Apple Music is currently second in the market, with 13 million subscribers.

Spotify has argued, however, that Apple have thus far been unable to slow down the amount of new listeners paying to stream with its service: Spotify gained 10 million in the first nine months that Apple Music had been on the market.

Meanwhile, despite offering new albums from the likes of Kanye West and Beyoncé exclusively on its platform (at least initially), Tidal, which was relaunched in March 2015, is in third position with little more than 3 million subscribers.


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