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| Amazon is building a live audio business |
Amazon is investing heavily in new live audio capabilities, similar to other live audio products like Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces, and the new live audio platform Spotify.
Like the company's podcast and music subscription efforts, the e-commerce giant sees live audio as a way to improve the kind of content it can offer through Alexa voice assistant and smart speaker products.
This work, led by Amazon's music division, includes paid podcasts, musicians, and celebrities to use the feature in talks, shows, and live events.
The idea is that users can access concerts or live shows through their Amazon Music account. The company communicates with major record labels through the artist's live audio events.
This feature is designed to focus on live music. But the tech giant is also hoping to use talk shows and podcasts as an extension of that effort.
Previous reports indicated that the company wanted to invest in local podcast content such as news and sports.
Last year, the company acquired podcast subscription company Wondery for $300 million.
Amazon is also planning to integrate real-time audio into its real-time video service, Twitch.
On-site voice services increased during the pandemic and have received significant investment from Silicon Valley since then.
Amazon is building a live audio business
According to the Clubhouse, users create more than 700,000 live audio rooms daily, up from 300,000 in May.
Earlier this year, Spotify acquired app developer Betty Labs and a live audio app called Locker Room developed by Betty Labs.
It has since launched Spotify Greenroom, a live social audio app focused on conversation, music, and sports, as well as a live concert feature.
Twitter has launched a live audio event with tickets for the Spaces feature. Earlier this year, Facebook launched a number of audio products, including a live audio app called Live Audio Rooms, which is comparable to Clubhouse.
That year, Discord also introduced the Stage channel, a feature used only for voice chat rooms. But Amazon has no plans to build a club-like social network. You need a radio-like digital tool to broadcast live shows and talks.
However, this can include podcasts and talk shows. The company currently focuses on music and events.