Amazon launches Amp app to let users play DJ on their own 'radio' shows
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Amazon.com (AMZN
-0.8%) has launched a new app offering users a way to play disc jockey for their own live radio shows, tapping a huge library of licensed songs.
The company on Tuesday put the free app, called Amp, into a limited-access beta program for Apple iOS devices.
It's ambitiously targeting a kind of reinvention of radio.
âRadio has always been about music and culture,â says Amazon's John Ciancutti. âBut imagine if you were inventing the medium for the first time today. Youâd combine what people love about radio â spontaneous talk, new music discovery, diverse personalities, and broad programming â with all that's made possible by todayâs technology. Youâd make it so anybody with a phone, a voice, and a love for music could make their own show."
Hosts will be able to access a library of tens of millions of songs, and chat with live callers into programs.
It's launching along with some big-name creators: Nicki Minaj will soon bring her radio show Queen Radio to Amp, and other shows are on the way from artists including Pusha T, Big Boi, Travis Barker, Lil Yachty, Tinashe and Lindsey Stirling.
Amazon is focused on streaming only through the Amp app for the moment, and creators will be added through an invite-only waitlist, though it's expected to eventually play through Twitch and Alexa devices, as well as support Android devices.