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Amazon Is Ready To Take on Apple and Spotify in Streaming Music (bloomberg.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

Amazon is turning up the volume in the music business. From a report: The world's largest online retailer will mount the first national TV campaign for its music-streaming service, featuring ads with songs from Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar and Queen. They're part of a larger effort that will extend to billboards, online video and radio, and to three countries -- the U.S., U.K. and Germany. Music has ascended the priority list at Amazon.com because of the popularity of the company's Echo speakers and the virtual assistant Alexa. Music is one of the most common requests of Alexa, and listening hours have doubled over the past year, the company said. "We're pouring fuel on the fire," Steve Boom, the head of Amazon Music said in an interview. "We have established ourselves as the leader in music services where voice is all you need to control it."

6 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Harbor for Rogue Sailors by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why bother streaming when it's available commercial-free in a harbor for rogue sailors?

    1. Re:Harbor for Rogue Sailors by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

      Stadium what? The best shows are at smaller venues like bars and community theaters.

  2. Welcome to future dystopia, Amazon users! by DogDude · · Score: 2

    So, does *nobody* really care that one giant MegaCorp is trying to own everything? Even a formerly anti-corporate message board is full of sycophants who can't get enough of Amazon. Me and my family are the only people that I know that don't give any money to Amazon. What happened to everybody else?

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
    1. Re:Welcome to future dystopia, Amazon users! by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 2

      Betraying trust? How about...
      1. Pimping facial recognition systems to authoritarian governments and law enforcement.
      2. Echo "bugs" which made them always listen "by accident."
      3. Coming out with cloud cameras, and no doubt leveraging this to hoover up surveillance data for posterity. Once it's in the cloud, it's never really guaranteed to be deleted.

      That's just for a start...

    2. Re:Welcome to future dystopia, Amazon users! by 110010001000 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      As opposed to what? Giving your money to other music streaming mega-corporations like Spotify or Apple? Amazon has built the infrastructure to stream content. I would expect them to use it. Amazon music streaming is cheaper than the other monthly alternatives. Maybe this will force the others to lower their prices.

    3. Re:Welcome to future dystopia, Amazon users! by lgw · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So, does *nobody* really care that one giant MegaCorp is trying to own everything?

      What are they trying to "own"? In retail, they're the second largest player, with less than 10% market share. Definitely not the biggest in movie streaming. The only thing I can think of where they're the biggest player is "cloud", and better them than Microsoft!

      Me and my family are the only people that I know that don't give any money to Amazon. What happened to everybody else?

      We enjoy convenience and low prices more then pointless self-flagellation?

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.