American e-commerce giant Amazon is in talks with big music companies about its plan to offer an Amazon Prime Music streaming service, according to Re/code. The said report cited unnamed sources familiar with the discussions, wrote VentureBeat.
The company currently charges a yearly fee of $79 for its Prime membership. This service is inclusive of a two-day shipping of Amazon items, access to the Kindle library, and unlimited access to the Prime Instant Video streaming service. The membership helps Amazon build its customer loyalty and repeat purchases, the report detailed.
The Amazon Prime Music service, however, is not expected to be launched anytime soon. According to Re/code's anonymous sources, the online retail firm has not yet closed a licensing deal because of problems in the pricing negotiations. Still, Peter Kafka of Re/code said the firm hired top officers from Sony Music and Rhapsody in 2013 to manage its digital music division, the report explained.
Right now, Amazon is giving away additional perks to encourage its customers to purchase music through the company itself rather than from other digital music stores. The launch of a Prime Music streaming service would also encourage buyers to switch to Amazon from Rdio, Spotify, and other streaming services, VentureBeat reported.
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