Amazon is quietly shutting down a popular app. This is a service change that will affect hundreds of music fans
- The popular music streaming app Amp will be shut down starting at the end of the month
- Music fans are disappointed that their favorite shows are losing their homes
Amazon has quietly pulled the plug on its live music app Amp, just a year and a half after the service first launched.
The restructuring will undoubtedly be a disappointment for many music fans, as Amp’s closure will leave a number of popular music talk shows in limbo.
The closure of the radio-like app, which lets users start their own show and call in to chat with other hosts, marks the end of Amazon’s first foray into live music streaming.
Despite the inclusion of major celebrity presenters such as Nicki Minaj and Travis Barker, the app’s number of users has declined since launch and Amazon has now decided to shut down the app on October 31st.
In a statement shared with MailOnline, an Amazon spokesperson said: “We have made the difficult decision to close Amp.”
Amazon’s Amp app has now been shut down less than two years after its initial release in 2022, disappointing fans of the app’s various radio shows
Amp allowed any user to host their own radio show and chat with their listeners and other hosts by “tuning in” to live shows.
The spokesperson added: “We’ve learned a lot along the way about how live music communities interact, which we bring to the table as we create new fan experiences at scale on Amazon Music.”
Apple Music vice president Steve Bloom announced the closure in an internal memo that the decision had been in the works for months.
“This decision was neither quick nor easy; it only became clear after months of careful consideration of what investments Amazon would like to make going forward,” Bloomberg reported.
Launched in March 2022. At that time, John Ciancutti, vice president of Amp, said: “We are creating a new version of radio that will offer an infinite choice of shows.”
Amp promised users access to a catalog of “tens of millions” of licensed songs that could be played in their shows and shared with listeners completely free of charge.
However, Amp faced a number of difficulties after its launch, with Amazon cutting 150 jobs – about half of the team – from the company’s Amp department.
Amp vice president John Ciancutti said the live music app would create a new version of radio, allowing anyone to share their music and talk to their listeners in real time
Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio was at one point the most-listened-to show on Apple Music before moving to Amp in 2022 alongside a number of high-profile celebrity endorsers
Amazon confirmed the news on Twitter, thanking fans for “creativity with us.”
On social media, fans of Nicki Minaj’s amp station Queen Radio were particularly disappointed by the announcement.
Nicki Minaj joined the platform shortly after its launch in 2022 after leaving Apple Music, where Queen Radio was once the most listened-to show on the platform.
However, this development means that the popular show no longer has a home.
“Amazon turns off the amplifier. Where the hell is Nicki Queen going to do radio?” asked one disappointed fan.
Other fans of the show were less concerned about Amp’s demise, with one writing: “This just means Queen Radio is getting bigger and better.”
Amp is currently running and will not be removed until October 31st.
However, MailOnline has confirmed that the app is no longer available to download from the UK App Store and links from the app’s website do not point to possible downloads.
What was Amazon’s amplifier?
- Amp launched in March 2022 and was widely seen as a competitor to the hugely successful Houseparty app that had launched shortly before.
- Amp allows users to host their own radio shows and engage with their listeners by “calling in” to different shows and chatting live on stream.
- Amazon differentiated its product from other similar apps by focusing more on the music streaming aspect of the radio rather than trying to set up large chat rooms for users to hang out.
- Users can access a catalog of tens of millions of licensed songs from Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Amazon through Amazon.
- Upon release, it secured contracts with a number of notable musicians, including Niki Minaj, Pusha T, Tinashe, Travis Barker and Lil Yachty.
- However, user numbers declined after the pandemic ended and Amp soon followed its competitors and was removed or removed from the App Store.