Amazon Music Grows Three Times Faster Than Spotify – Rolling Stone



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When Amazon rolled out a standalone streaming music streaming service in 2016, the music industry largely rejected it as another Spotify clone, coming in too late in the game. But the e-commerce company's efforts in music are fast becoming one of the main drivers of the industry.

A few days after Amazon hired Taylor Swift, SZA and Dua Lipa for a large-scale concert exceeding its annual Prime Day sale, the Financial Times reports that the number of subscribers to Amazon Music Unlimited – which complements Amazon's more limited Premium Music offering – has increased 70% over the past year. While Spotify dominates the market for the number of pure subscribers, its subscription growth rate is lagging behind at only 25%. Midia Research music analyst, Mark Mulligan, told the FT Amazon Music is the "dark horse" of streaming services and "people do not pay as much attention to it [as to Apple and Spotify]but it's extremely effective. "

The reason for the furious growth of Amazon Music? It does not attack the obvious demographics of young music fans, many of whom are already loyal to their Spotify and Apple Music credentials. Instead, it targets older consumers, particularly those who are between the record generation and streaming youth. According to Midia, only 5% of Spotify's customers are 55 or older, compared with 14% of Amazon Music's customers.

Amazon understands the value of catering for heavy consumers – those who listen to music smoothly, people who want to be able to use their smart speakers as radios – and has positioned its two streaming music services as utilities rather than innovations. The cost of a subscription to Amazon Music Unlimited also goes from $ 10 a month to $ 8 a month for Premium members and only $ 4 a month for people who only listen via Echo, which in fact easily the most convenient and affordable option. (Amazon Prime has more than 100 million customers in the United States alone.)

While competitors strive to differentiate themselves through bold new features or increased interactivity, Amazon executives have bluntly admitted that Amazon Music, in its Prime and Unlimited versions, was everything simply a "traditional music delivery service for traditional music fans". grandiose vision, but it works – and very well, at that.

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