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- Popular music streaming app Amp will be shutting down from the end of the month
- Music fans are disappointed when their favorite shows lose their home
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Amazon has pulled the plug on its live music app, Amp, just a year and a half after the service was first launched.
The change will no doubt come as a disappointment to many music fans as Amp’s closure will leave a number of popular music talk shows in limbo.
The closure of the radio-style app, which allows users to launch their own show and connect to chat with other hosts, marks the end of Amazon’s first venture into live music streaming.
Despite bringing on top hosts like Nicki Minaj and Travis Barker, the number of users of the app has declined since its launch, and Amazon has now made the decision to retire the app on October 31.
In a statement shared with MailOnline, an Amazon spokesperson said: ‘We have made the difficult decision to close Amp.’
The Amazon Amp app has now been shut down just two years after its initial release in 2022, disappointing fans of the app’s various podcasts
Amp allowed any user to host their own radio show as well as chat with other listeners and hosts by “calling in” to live shows
“We’ve learned a lot about how live music communities interact in the process, which we’re leveraging as we build new fan experiences at scale at Amazon Music,” the spokesperson added.
Apple Music vice president Steve Bloom said the closure was announced in an internal memo The decision has been in implementation for months.
He added: “This decision was not made quickly or easily, but rather became clear after months of careful consideration to determine the investments Amazon wants to make for the future.” Bloomberg reported.
It launched in March 2022, at which point John Ciancotti, Amp’s vice president, said: “We’re creating a new version of radio that will have an infinite number of shows.”
Amp promised users access to a catalog of “tens of millions” of licensed songs that they could play at their shows and share with listeners completely free.
However, Amp faced a number of difficulties after its launch, with Amazon cutting 150 jobs – equivalent to about half the team – from the company’s Amp division.
The live music app will create a new version of radio, allowing anyone to share their music and talk to their listeners in real time, said John Ciancotti, Amp’s vice president.
Nicki Minaj’s Queen Radio was at one point the most streamed on Apple Music before moving to Amp in 2022 alongside a number of high-profile celebrities.
Amazon confirmed the news on Twitter, thanking fans for “creating with us.”
On social media, fans of Nicki Minaj’s 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 at one point the most listened to show on the platform.
However, this development now leaves the popular show without a home.
“Amazon is shutting down Speakerphone… where will Nicki be singing on Queen Radio?” asked one frustrated fan.
Other fans of the show were less concerned about Amp’s ending, with one writing “It just means Queen Radio just got bigger and better.”
Amp is currently still running and will start winding down on October 31st.
However, MailOnline has confirmed that the app is no longer available to download on the UK App Store and that links from the app’s website do not direct to any potential downloads.
(Tags for translation)dailymail