14 DAY TRIAL // Amazon seems to still be working on a Spotify alternative, reports indicate. It looks like the service may even be delivered sometime this year.
According to Re/code, rumor has it that Amazon will be offering the Spotify-like music subscription service later this year, and it will most likely be bundled up with the Prime delivery service. At the very least, that seems to be the idea for it in the start.
The company is already in the middle of discussions with record labels, but it doesn’t seem to have much luck. The execs are asking for hefty discounts on the pricing record labels are giving other services, such as Spotify, Beats and many others, hoping that Amazon’s reach and fame will win them over.
The discussions have been going on for months, however, indicating that the strategy isn’t really paying off and that Amazon may end up paying the full price.
It’s easy to understand why Amazon is so keen to have labels lower the price since it’s probably not going to make too much money from the brand new service.
In essence, Amazon Prime offers free two-day shipping on a whole range of products and a bunch of other perks. For $79 (€57) per year, Amazon threw in Video, access to video streaming of a bunch of shows and other interesting content. This is all with the hope that Prime members will continue to buy more and more from Amazon. With that in mind, the investment to keep Prime Instant Video active is worth it.
By adding a music service to the package, the deal would be even sweeter for Amazon users who aren’t yet decided about whether to join the club of Prime members or not.
The company is expected to increase the price for Amazon Prime in the next few months. Amazon said that the prices could go up by as much as $40 (€29), up to $119 (€86) a year because the delivery costs have also gone up a lot over the years.
As Re/code points out, Amazon has been gearing up for the addition of a music service for a long while. Back in 2012, it hired a former Sony music exec, Michael Paull, and later on the man who worked on developing the business for Rhapsody and MOG, Drew Denbo was also added to the group.
All in all, Amazon’s music service is almost a certainty, but the delay can only be blamed on the lengthy negotiations with record labels.