Amazon has announced plans to shut down its Amp streaming audio platform.
The platform was introduced with much fanfare last year as technology designed to “create your own radio show”.
“Radio has always been about music and culture. But imagine if you were inventing the medium for the first time today. You’d combine what people love about radio—spontaneous talk, new music discovery, diverse personalities, and broad programming—with all that’s made possible by today’s technology,” the company said at launch.
“You’d make it so anybody with a phone, a voice, and a love for music could make their own show. And that’s exactly what we’re doing. Amp makes it possible for you to grab the mic and run the airwaves. We are creating a new version of radio that will have an infinite dial of shows.”
However, after less than two years in operation, the company has pulled the plug on the app.
“We’ve made the difficult decision to close Amp,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We learned a lot about how live music communities interact in the process, which we are bringing to bear as we build new fan experiences at scale in Amazon Music.”
Amp was launched as a live audio app Clubhouse rose in popularity in 2022. It featured a daily morning show hosted by Nick Cannon that debuted in April, as well as other prominent former radio hosts.
The move by Amazon comes as it has undergone a deep dive into its expenses. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has been on the record as saying that underperforming products from the company are likely to be cut as the retailer freezes corporate hiring and eliminated more than 27,000 jobs.
