You might’ve thought that the social audio scene is beyond innovation at this point, with almost every major tech firm getting in on it, but Amazon (AMZN) has managed to put its own little spin on it. The company is reportedly in the process of developing its own social audio feature into Amazon Music, which might allow users to access live conversations, events, and shows. The rumor mill has it that the feature is a bit more premium than standard live audio platforms as it aims to replicate the live-event experience rather than build a mass-market play.
Spotify (SPOT), Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB), and Discord either already have or are in the process of making a live audio feature on their platforms. While Amazon has differentiated itself from the competition, new aspects of the feature could come out as we progress into the year though — watch this space.
Why it matters
While it might seem live audio’s been around for a while, platforms (apart from Clubhouse) have only started launching their features since early 2021. It’ll take at least a full year before we start seeing meaningful metrics — but with music, audiobook, and podcast services expected to reach $19b in revenue this year (a 19% annual increase) it’s clear the space is ripe for entry.
