AMAZON MUSIC
RAISES ITS "VOICE" (UPDATE)

How do you market a streaming service, at this point in the game, to draw segments that have thus far resisted or been unaware of the platform?

Different services have responded to this challenge in different ways: spotlighting up-and-coming acts to showcase their tastemaking bona fides; underscoring their commitment to recognizing songwriters; noting their ease of use for playlisting.

Amazon Music, meanwhile—which our abacus-wielding research team believes has amassed a 9% marketshare in the streaming games—has unveiled a new campaign called "A Voice Is All You Need." That title bears more than one meaning, focusing as it does on great voices like Ariana Grande, SZA and Kendrick Lamar (see the alluringly animated spots below) while also reminding users that they can easily play any song with a voice request to Alexa. Country breakthrough Kane Brown was added to the campaign with his new hit, "Lose It."

How will Amazon's voice-tech advantage play out in the long run? Will the new campaign resonate with and succeed in on-boarding a significant number of streaming stragglers? Will Apple and other competitors who've got voice-enabled/integrated gizmos (hello, Siri, as well as Spotify-aligned Samsung's Bixby and other virtual dramatis personae) pursue similar outreach? We'll be watching. And listening.