The 2025–2026 GRAMMY U Mentorship Program, sponsored by Amazon Music, expanded its offerings and welcomed its largest cohort ever, connecting over 1,200 mentor-mentee pairs globally across various music industry tracks, with enhanced virtual programming and a new three-phase structure to support emerging professionals. The program aims to foster industry careers, promote diversity, and provide valuable networking and educational opportunities, culminating in the 2026 Grammy Awards.
Amazon is integrating Alexa Plus into its Music app on iOS and Android, allowing users to access advanced AI features for music discovery, detailed information, and personalized recommendations across all subscription tiers, initially available to beta testers.
Originally Published 3 months ago — by Rolling Stone
Bad Bunny's final show of his 31-night residency in San Juan broke Amazon Music's record for most-watched single-artist livestream, with the event featuring guest performances and a heartfelt tribute to Puerto Rico, and marking the start of a multi-year partnership with Amazon to support local development.
Originally Published 3 months ago — by variety.com
Bad Bunny announced a surprise final show for his Puerto Rico residency, which will be streamed live on Amazon Music. The show is exclusive to Puerto Rico residents, with registration open for a chance to attend. The event also kicks off a series of initiatives aimed at supporting education, culture, and local businesses in Puerto Rico.
Amazon Music has launched '2024 Delivered,' a personalized yearly recap feature similar to Spotify's Wrapped. This new feature provides users with a summary of their listening habits, including top artists, songs, and genres, and offers shareable animated cards. Unique to Amazon Music, it highlights favorite podcasts and the most requested song via Alexa, with some users receiving special messages from artists. This launch coincides with similar recap features from Apple Music and YouTube Music, while Spotify's Wrapped is still anticipated.
Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses now allow users to post Instagram stories directly, support Amazon Music, and offer guided meditation through the Calm app. Users can control these features via voice commands, enhancing the glasses' functionality without needing a phone. The updates will roll out gradually.
Amazon Music is testing a new AI playlist maker called Maestro, allowing users to create playlists with text prompts, including emojis. Similar to Spotify's AI Playlist, Maestro is currently in beta for a small number of US subscribers, and will only be available through the Amazon Music app. Users can save and share the AI-generated playlists, but Amazon warns that the technology is still new and may not always get it right. The company plans to gather feedback before expanding the rollout of Maestro.
Amazon Music has introduced Maestro, a generative AI-powered playlist feature available in beta to a limited number of users in the US on iOS and Android. The tool uses natural language prompts to create a wide variety of playlists based on sounds, activities, emotions, and even emoji. While still in beta, Maestro aims to handle diverse prompts, with safeguards in place to prohibit offensive language and inappropriate requests. Amazon plans to expand the feature over time, allowing Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers to listen and save playlists instantly, while Prime members and free tier users can access 30-second previews. This move follows Spotify's recent launch of a similar AI Playlist feature for Premium members in the UK and Australia.
Amazon Music introduces Maestro, an AI playlist generator allowing users to create playlists using spoken or written prompts, including emojis, with the aim of matching songs to the input. The beta is currently available to a subset of free Amazon Music users, Prime customers, and Unlimited Amazon Music subscribers in the U.S., with more functionality for subscribers. The AI functionality may incentivize users to upgrade to a paid subscription, and the company has added guardrails to block offensive language. The beta is launching on iOS and Android, with plans to expand to more customers over time.
Amazon Music has launched Maestro, a new AI playlist generator available in beta to a subset of U.S. customers on iOS and Android. Maestro uses AI technology to help users create personalized playlists based on prompts such as emojis, emotions, activities, and more. The feature is rolling out to Free, Prime, and Unlimited Amazon Music customers, with plans to expand access over time. Users can create, save, and share their unique playlists, and the technology behind Maestro will continue to improve based on user feedback.
Beyoncé's "Act II: Cowboy Carter" album has broken records on Spotify and Amazon Music, becoming the most-streamed album in a single day on Spotify in 2024 and marking her biggest album debut on Amazon Music. The country-inspired album features collaborations with Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, and emerging Black country artists, and includes a unique cover of "Jolene."
TikTok has introduced a new feature called "Add to Music App" that allows users to save songs they discover on TikTok directly to their preferred music streaming services, including Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music. The feature aims to create a direct link between music discovery on TikTok and consumption on streaming platforms, making it easier for users to enjoy full-length songs and generating greater value for artists and rightsholders. The feature will initially roll out in the US and UK, with testing in more markets to follow.
Amazon has confirmed that it is cutting jobs in its Music division, affecting employees in Latin America, North America, and Europe. The company did not disclose the number of employees impacted but stated that it will continue to invest in Amazon Music. These layoffs come as Amazon reported strong third-quarter net income and forecasted revenue in line with expectations for the fourth quarter, which is crucial due to holiday shopping. Amazon has been quietly trimming jobs in various divisions, including communications staff in its Studios, Video, and Music divisions last month. Amazon Music competes with Spotify, Pandora, Google, and Apple in the music streaming market.
Amazon Music is raising prices for its Unlimited plans for Prime members, with the individual plan increasing from $8.99 to $9.99/month and the family plan increasing from $15.99 to $16.99/month. The annual pricing for Prime members is also increasing, from $89 to $99/year for the individual plan and from $159 to $169/year for the family plan. This follows recent price hikes by competitors such as Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music. Prime members still have access to a free version of Amazon Music, but with limited features.
