Amazon Music to integrate Twitch livestreams

Amazon Music and Twitch announced a partnership under which Twitch’s livestreaming functionality will be incoporated into the Amazon Music app.

The capability is launching today in the iOS and Android versions of the Amazon Music app. Users will receive push notifications when artists they follow go live on Twitch, with the streams visible right within the app. Fans will also be able to browse a new 'Live' page in the app to find performances in progress. The companies say they have made it simple for artists to link their Twitch channels with Amazon Music using a dedicated new app, Amazon Music for Artists. 

The companies highlighted a few upcoming uses of the integration, including The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. hosting a fan Q&A about the band's new album on September 4 at 1 pm ET, and soul singer Nicole Atkins hosting a regular series (Wednesdays at 7 pm ET) with performances and interviews.

“The combination of live streaming, coupled with the on-demand playback of songs on Amazon Music is groundbreaking,” Ryan Redington, director of Amazon Music, said in a release. “We’re providing artists with more tools to instantly engage with fans, and this new feature couldn’t arrive at a more crucial time in the industry. More than 1,000 artists have already connected their Amazon Music accounts to Twitch, and this is just day one."

Amazon Music has 55 million customers, according to the company, which puts it close to Apple Music's total but well behind Spotify, which has more than 110 million paid subscribers.