He runs Amazon Music. The service which might get little ink, but is a powerhouse. Voice control is everything, and Amazon Music is closely tied-in to Alexa. Furthermore, when I asked how many people had an Alexa-powered device at the Music Media Summit, where this podcast was recorded, almost everybody raised their hand. One person had an Apple HomePod. Only a couple had a Google Home. There’s a first-mover advantage, and as long as you improve, you win. This is Apple’s failure, the failure of Siri. I never use it, do you? And Google’s voice recognition is quite good, but what makes Alexa work is Prime. Which seemingly everybody has, at least everybody willing to open their wallet.
You get free music with Prime.
You can get all the music just on your Echo/Alexa.
You can get a Spotify/Apple-type music subscription too.
And on your Echo Show, the lyrics are displayed.
Never underestimate ease of use, never underestimate the consumer’s unwillingness to switch. This is how Apple has built its music streaming service, marketing to those already in the ecosystem.
But it gets better. You see Amazon is creating its own metadata. Not just name, title and song, but other categories, such that Amazon Music can make playlists on the fly! That’s right, you’re not limited to those created by curators. “Alexa, play me depressing music from 1967.” I just tried it, the playlist started with “The Wind Cries Mary.” And you can do this on the app, not only the Echo devices.
Furthermore, Amazon is not dominated by hip-hop, other genres get much larger play, this speaks to their broad audience.
Steve Boom is the guy.
Listen.
