Amazon building Clubhouse competitor that turns hosts into DJs

According to The Verge, this project's goal is to democratise and reinvent the radio. The app will be focused on the US initially.

San Francisco: Tech giant Amazon is building a new app, codenamed “Project Mic” that gives anyone the ability to make and distribute a live radio show complete with music.

According to The Verge, this project’s goal is to democratise and reinvent the radio. The app will be focused on the US initially.

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Listeners will be able to tune in through the app as well as through Audible, Amazon Music, Twitch and Alexa-equipped devices.

With the Alexa devices, listeners will be able to interact with shows using just their voice. The app experience will also be optimised for the car, playing into Amazon’s idea of trying to reinvent radio.

A mockup app image viewed by The Verge depicts a screen listing shows that are currently live; trending topics like #NBA or #hot100; and featured creators. Users will also be able to search for content by topic, name or music.

Anyone will be able to pull from Amazon’s music catalogue to arrange their programme.

For launch, the company is planning to recruit celebrity talent along with smaller tastemakers to help launch the app and populate it with content. Although, the app is highly music-focused, programming will centre on three other areas: pop culture, comedy and sports.

With this app, Amazon joins the likes of Apple, Spotify and even Sonos, which are looking to programme radio-adjacent content.

All these companies work with music curators to host shows and try to replicate the radio experience digitally.