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Amazon is Launching Project Mic to Get into the Live Audio Game
27 Oct, 2021 / 04:18 PM / Reeny Joseph

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Amazon is planning to get into live audio game. The company is building a new app, codenamed Project Mic, that gives anyone the ability to make and distribute a live radio show, complete with music, according to a presentation viewed by The Verge. This project’s big goal is to democratize and reinvent the radio. The app will be focused on the US initially.

Listeners will be able to tune in through the app, as well as through Audible, Amazon Music, Twitch, and Alexa-equipped devices. With the Alexa devices, listeners will be able to interact with shows using just their voice. The app experience will also be optimized for the car, playing into Amazon’s idea of trying to reinvent radio. Users will also be able to search for content by topic, name, or music.

Anyone will be able to pull from Amazon’s music catalogue to arrange their program. For launch, the company is planning to recruit celebrity talent along with smaller tastemakers to help launch the app and populate it with content. Although the app is highly music-focused, programming will centre on three other areas: pop culture, comedy, and sports.

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With this app, Amazon joins the likes of Apple, Spotify, and even Sonos, which are looking to program radio-adjacent content. All these companies work with music curators to host shows and try to replicate the radio experience digitally. In Amazon’s case, it might see the benefit of this app as something that can be localized — shows can be catered to where a person lives and they could even receive ads based on that location, too. Plus, with interaction being able to happen through Echo devices, the call-in experience can also be replicated.