Amazon’s Understated App Amp Aims to Revolutionize Radio

Amazon unveiled its much-anticipated live audio-streaming platform, Amp, in the spring of last year. The app’s goal was to transform radio by offering an endless selection of shows. Amp permits users to create their own DJ sets using its extensive in-built music library, without worrying about purchasing songs or dealing with DMCA issues. The users can compile playlists, go live, converse between tracks, monitor the chat and even invite callers. Although promising when I wrote about it a year ago, it was only available on iOS, had few users, and offered limited features.

Just over a year later, Amp has achieved a significant milestone: it is now accessible on Android. Amp, Amazon’s first self-developed streaming platform, was an Apple exclusive for over a year, which provided a degree of technical consistency and a self-regulated growth and user number restriction. However, as it opens up to the other half of the smartphone world, it is about to face the full competition in an already crowded social-creator scene.

For Amp, extending beyond iOS is crucial, even though the platform is still in beta (and only available in the US). However, the broader accessibility of Google’s operating system – from TVs to Chromebooks and beyond – is a crucial step in Amazon’s quest to prove it can build a viable streaming platform from scratch, rather than simply acquiring an established one.

There are countless platforms for DJ sessions and internet radio, whether on large platforms like YouTube and TikTok, direct competitors like Stationhead or Tidal (via its Live Sessions feature), or even Amazon Music’s own DJ Mode. Not to mention the throng of DJs on Amazon-owned Twitch. And, of course, there’s FM radio. So, what sets Amp apart?

According to Zach Sang, an Amp contractor and former broadcast DJ, it’s “very much like Sirius meets YouTube.” He explained that Amp brings together “real-life, legacy career broadcasters mixed with the future of those broadcasters… it’s radio democratized… programmed for people and not for profit.” From a user’s standpoint, Amp’s unique selling point seems to be its focus on radio and radio-style shows specifically, along with the built-in music library.

Daily show host Christina “Criti” Gonzalez describes Amp as a unique space where “you’re able to listen to all the music you’ve forgotten about, didn’t know about and crave to hear, again with personalities and so many people of different walks of life that have one common interest – music.”

Matt Sandler, Amp Co-Founder, felt that existing platforms were not delivering what listeners or creators desired. Amp has signed deals with celebrities and recognized presenters like Nicki Minaj, Joe Budden, Nick Cannon, and Sang to give the platform some star power.

In contrast to Clubhouse’s early popularity surge, Amp has mostly remained unnoticed since its launch. Even now, the app is busier than it was at launch, but the average number of listeners for most shows is still disappointingly low. Despite this, many users have stated that they are not discouraged by the low numbers. They appreciate the close-knit community feel, and the warm and welcoming culture.

Since Amp remains in beta, some technical hitches still occur. While minor glitches like disappearing chat messages can be annoying, more significant issues like stream crashes or hosts getting kicked out of their shows can be frustrating. As Amp expands to Android and potentially draws in more users, these technical issues might intensify.

Amp is still figuring out monetization, with its current main revenue source being an opaque creator fund. As Amp grows, the challenge will be to scale up while maintaining its unique charm. It will also need to provide realistic revenue streams to keep and attract creators. All this while improving visibility to grow its user base, thereby making creator economy more viable.

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• Amazon Amp
• Amazon Music
• Clubhouse
• Stationhead
• Tidal
• Twitch