Amazon to bring podcasts to Amazon Music, Audible

Podcasts will be available to both free and premium Amazon Music users. Here is what you need to know about the new update.

Amazon reveals podcast plan in mass email (REUTERS)

Amazon is planning to incorporate podcasts into Amazon Music and Audible. The company revealed its plans in a mass email disseminated to content creators and some journalists who cover Amazon. Labelled as “confidential”, the content of the email has leaked.

“We're excited to let you know that Amazon Music and Audible will be adding podcasts to our respective services, including Amazon Music's free tier…. Agreeing to add your content ensures your podcast will be available to Amazon Music's rapidly growing audience of 55 million customers,” said Amazon in the email.

Amazon's so-called confidential email, however, is not without controversy. According to reports, podcasters who signed up to submit their shows discovered a clause that makes it compulsory for content creators not to disparage Amazon or any of its services.

That's a standard flub, but here's where it really goes off the rails: the terms and conditions specify that podcasts will not disparage @Amazon in any way.

I'm a freaking entertainment podcast and I can't consent to that.

How can any actual news podcast?! pic.twitter.com/QlE23KdAv7

— HydroxyCoreyQuinn (@QuinnyPig) August 11, 2020

“Your content may not (a) include advertising or messages that disparage or are directed against Amazon or any service; (b) include advertising that does not comply with Amazon's Creative Acceptance Policies, which Amazon may update time to time…,” said the terms and conditions.

That said, the podcasts integration will help Amazon finally provide users of its smart speakers and other platforms a native experience for on-demand content. At the moment, Amazon's Echo and Fire TV devices do support podcasts but rely on third-party applications. The catalogue of such apps is not wide as well.