Streaming Straight down the Amazon?

In what could seem to cynics (i.e The Gen) as suspicious timing in the wake of Apple snapping up Beats, Amazon is reportedly set to launch a streaming service this summer as part of its prime service- with the twist being that it will only feature tracks and albums released at least 6 months ago.

The Gen concedes that this is still a reasonable amount of music- but with Spotify speaking out about artists holding back new albums, surely exclusive release windows are where the streaming turf war truly lies as opposed to catalogue.

Of course, you could argue that the real money actually lies in catalogue as pointed out by Music Ally here. Besides, this is Amazon and will probably make them obscene amounts of money however they approach it. Even so, it seems a bit half-baked by Founder Jeff Bezos’s usual standards of aggressive expansion.

The report comes via Buzzfeed, which is of course better known for lists such as ’37 Facts You Definitely Didn’t Know about Mario Kart’ but it seems authoritative- and Amazon has already signed up over 20 million users to Prime without any music, focusing on a mix of fast free delivery and an underwhelming (in the UK at least) video streaming service.

Amazon has reportedly reached agreements with Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group and are presumably talking to other majors and independents- The Gen hopes so, especially considering the current battle that YouTube is experiencing with trade associations over its strong arm approach to indie labels.