Amazon Music simply became Fb, and I am weirdly intrigued

With regards to the music streaming wars, the one actual gamers within the sport are Apple Music and Spotify, with Tidal getting a runner-up spot among the many fanatic crowd. Although Amazon Music has tried its finest to be part of the dialog, the $12 a month streaming music service simply hasn’t discovered an viewers, regardless of providing an nearly an identical service to the massive gamers within the sport at an analogous worth.

Nonetheless, it seems like Amazon Music is uninterested in settling for final place in music streaming, and is completely redesigning what their service is with the launch of a brand new characteristic referred to as Fan Teams, which makes Amazon Music really feel extra like a social media platform than a music service

What are Amazon Music Fan Teams?

Making listening social

With regards to streaming music, I would guess the method for many listeners is similar: open your music app of selection, boot up your favourite playlist, stick in your earbuds, and go about your day. I do not assume anybody is spending hours upon hours scrolling Spotify or Apple Music, and that is largely by design, with these apps merely offering customers with entry to the soundtrack of their life whereas they do different issues.

Nonetheless, Amazon Music desires to basically change your relationship together with your music streaming app with the launch of its new social characteristic, Fan Teams. These new music-based communities will dwell contained in the app, with Amazon Music customers capable of be part of or create teams for genres, artists, and themes the place they’ll put up, chat, remark, react with emojis, and even take part in group streams the place everybody listens and reacts collectively. Customers will be capable to entry a scrollable feed of posts, occasions and extra, that may permit them to compensate for the newest releases, discourse, and drama occurring in music, all with out leaving the Amazon Music app.

Apparently, Fan Teams on Amazon Music can even permit artists to create their very own communities, giving them a direct line of communication with followers with the flexibility to host their very own occasions, preview music, put up, and share updates straight. No particular artists have been talked about as confirmed to be collaborating in Fan Teams, however you possibly can guess Amazon is working arduous behind the scenes to draw high artists to its new social platform upfront of its US launch.

When are Amazon Fan Teams launching?

This characteristic is barely out there in Canada proper now, however anticipate a US launch subsequent 12 months

Credit score: Amazon

Amazon Music’s Fan Teams characteristic is rolling out in beta throughout Canada proper now on each iOS and Android. Nonetheless, for those who’re within the US (or one other a part of the world) by no means worry as this characteristic is slated for a global rollout in 2026.

It appears a bit bizarre at first to see Amazon Music evolving into basically a music-based social media platform, however given the streaming service’s unpopularity in its present type, it is clear that one thing needed to change, and I assume they could as nicely attempt to be Fb for music followers. The success of this new initiative actually hinges on whether or not followers (and artists) present up in giant sufficient numbers for it to really feel like an actual social media platform as a substitute of only a music streaming service with feedback, and it will likely be attention-grabbing to see if this new characteristic strikes the needle in any respect for Amazon Music in 2026 and past.