Could future Amazon Prime subscriptions come with a Spotify-style streaming music service? It’s definitely a possiblity, and something that Amazon is already considering. In fact, according to Re/code’s Peter Kafka, Amazon is “engaged in serious talks with big music labels” – and have been for at least a few months.
But these are just talks, and they’re in their infancy. Amazon and the labels still have quite a bit of negotiating left to do, as Amazon will surely want to lock in a sweet deal to stream the labels’ content.
Of course, the theory behind adding perks to Amazon Prime subscriptions is that it becomes a juicier option for those who may have been just considering it. If you’re on the fence about paying $79 a year for two-day shipping–here, how does a Netflix-style video streaming service sound? How does free access to the Kindle lending library sound? Wait–how about a Spotify-style music streaming service?
Although Amazon definitely eats some of the cost for licensing any content they offer Prime subscribers (it’s worth it, when you think about how much more a Prime subscriber is likely to buy from Amazon as opposed to a non-Prime shopper), there’s definitely no guarantee that the company wouldn’t pass on some of the cost of a streaming music service to the people.
In fact, the company has already stated that they may raise the price of a Prime subscription.
“Even as fuel and transportation costs have increased, the $79 price has remained the same. We know the customers love Prime as the usage of the shipping benefit has increased dramatically since launch. On a per customer basis, Prime members are ordering more items across more categories with free two-day shipping than ever before. With the increased cost of fuel, transportation, as well as the increased usage among Prime members, we’re considering increasing the price of Prime between $20 to $40 in the U.S.,” said Amazon during their most recent earnings call.
Once again–this is in its nascent stage. But hey–if Amazon is going to raise the price of Prime anyway, it would definitely be nice to get something in return. A streaming music service would work, I guess. You may recall that Amazon just recently upped the price of a Prime subscription £30 in the UK, but they did throw subscribers a bone–streaming video.
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