Amazon Amp Archives - Haulix Daily

Does the world need another social media app? According to the folks at Amazon Amp, the answer is an ecstatic “Yes!”

Remember Clubhouse? Near the beginning of the pandemic, Clubhouse became the hot social media platform people needed in their lives, offering drop-in audio conversations and unique access to celebrities. The hype was so great that virtually every major digital company has tried to copy Clubhouse’s success, and Amazon is no exception.

This month, Amazon gave the world Amp, a clubhouse competitor with one unique feature: music licenses. Unlike Clubhouse and all of its knock-offs, Amp users can choose from millions of free-to-use songs to include in their broadcasts. In other words, it gives people the ability to host their own radio show without ads or fancy equipment. Users can even take calls from their audience.

Cool as it may be, the idea behind Amp is not necessarily new. As host James Shotwell explains in this Music Biz update, the concept of turning everyone into a DJ has been tried multiple times over the last decade. Each time, a small portion of the population adapts to the new technology, but everyone else ignores it. Eventually, over time, the hype dies, and people move on.

Will Amp be an exception to this trend? Can Amazon give the world a good reason to download another social media app? Let’s discuss.

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After months of rumors and speculation, Amazon has released Amp, a Clubhouse competitor built for sharing and discussing music.

The current global pandemic forced the evolution of social media in a way few other events could. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and the like helped, but several new apps also rose to popularity. People needed to feel connected, and these emerging platforms made it possible to achieve that connection in new and exciting ways. The most notable of these is Clubhouse, which makes it no surprise to learn the biggest names in tech are now rushing to share their version of the immensely popular app.

Today, March 9, Amazon launched Amp, a Clubhouse competitor with music licensing deals.

Anyone who signs up will be able to host their own live show, complete with the ability to stream “tens of millions of licensed songs” from the big three record labels and “a long list” of indies, Amazon says. The goal is to turn any user into a radio DJ who can program a playlist, talk to listeners, and chat with call-in guests.

Critically, hosts and listeners won’t need to subscribe to any particular service to tune in — anyone can listen in to full-length songs as long as they sign up for Amp, which is free.

As The Verge points out, Amazon is positioning this as more of a radio-style service than a live chat service (there’s even a five-person cap on callers right now), which is probably for the best. Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces already have a big presence in the live audio space, and Facebook is taking a crack at it, too. But none of them have the music licensing agreements in place that Amazon does, and so those services have focused far more on conversations between hosts and guests. Amazon has a chance to let hosts do something very different here, giving everyone a shot at being something like a college radio DJ.

Amazon is hoping to boost early signups by having a slew of celebrities appear on AMP. Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, Tinashe, Travis Barker, Lil Yachty, and Big Boi are among the artists who’ll be streaming on Amp. Amazon hasn’t said when they’ll be on just yet, though. There also won’t be monetization incentives for (non-celebrity) hosts at launch, though Amp spokesperson Rebecca Silverstein tells The Verge that Amazon hopes to add features that incentivize creators in the future.

So, what’s really happening here?

Radio is evolving. Whether or not Amazon is intentionally trying to reinvent radio, that is precisely what the company may achieve with Amp. If creators embrace the platform, and listeners find creators they like, there is no limit to the amount of influence Amp could have on the larger music conversation. It’s entirely possible to imagine a world where people look forward to a creator’s weekly top 10 countdown or similar product. All that remains to be seen is whether or not people are willing to embrace yet another social media platform.