Amazon acquires Amie Street variable-pricing music store |
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Amazon acquires Amie Street variable-pricing music store
Amazon.com has acquired the Amie Street music service, according to multiple reports and a note to users on the Amie Street site this morning. The Seattle company was an early investor in the New York-based music service. Amie Street uses a variable-pricing model that increases the price of songs based on popularity, as determined by the number of purchases made by its community over time.
It's the latest in a series of quirky acquisitions by Amazon, following the company's earlier purchases of Zappos and Woot. Even though Amazon is acquiring Amie Street's users and brand, the chances of the online retail giant adopting or incorporating the variable-pricing model don't sound particularly promising.
"As of September 22, 2010, all AmieStreet.com pages will be forwarded to Amazon.com and you will no longer be able to use AmieStreet.com or any of its services," says the note to users.
Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, who once put Amie Street on a list of services he couldn't live without, quotes its founders saying that Amazon probably won't use the business model, although they aren't certain.
We've put a message in to Amazon.com seeking confirmation of the deal and clarification of its plans. Financial terms of the acquisition haven't been reported.
The Amazon MP3 digital download store has made headway in the music business with popular daily deals. Amie Street users are getting a $5 promotional code to use at the Amazon MP3 store, but the startup says any Amie Street account balances must be used up prior to the Sept. 22 transition.
Peter Kafka of AllThingsD.com writes that Amie Street's business model "never really broke through."
"The company took a long time to get the big music labels on board, and when they did it was in a limited way. So the store was primarily a place for unknown musicians to try promoting their stuff," he writes. "It is perhaps most famous as the place you could go to hear the stylings of Ashley Alexandra Dupre, who is best known for work other than music. (Ask Eliot Spitzer)."
Amie Street's founders say they will focus next on their Songza site for creating custom online radio stations with friends and co-workers.
More coverage: Mashable, PaidContent
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