Back in 2007, Amazon invested in a small company called Amie Street. Amie Street, an online digital music service, specialized in independent music in a unique way. All MP3s on Amie Street start out free. As more customers purchase the MP3s, the price of the download increases, with a cap of $0.99 per song. Amazon recently purchased Amie Street for an undisclosed amount, and starting September 22nd, everything on AmieStreet.com will be forwarded to Amazon.
The creators of Amie Street are moving on though, and are now wholly dedicated to their new project, Songza. Songza is essentially an internet radio service, where users can create their own personal station. According to Amie Street co-founder and CEO, Elias Roma, “We built Songza to be a social music service that let users share their music, see what their friends are listening to and collaborate with new people who share their interests”. In this sense, Songza becomes a blur between internet radio and social media. Who knows, maybe in a few years Songz will gain in popularity and millions of people will be checking Facebook, posting on Twitter, and listening to music on Songza simultaneously.
Written by Brennan M.