Amazon has today (September 26) added the Alexa voice control system to the Amazon Music app on iOS and Android in the UK, US, Germany and Austria.
The app allows listeners to either browse the interface as usual, or ask Alexa to play the music the want using the push-to-talk function. Music Week has witnessed a demo of the new service, which responds to a range of voice commands including requests for an artist’s new song without specifying the track’s name.
Customers can ask for music based on genre, decade, mood, tempo, activity or even the lyrics if they are unable to remember the name of a song.
While Alexa has becoming an increasingly popular method of accessing Amazon’s streaming service in the home, the mobile option means voice activation and music can be combined on the move, whether in the car, running or commuting.
“We felt that the future of music streaming growth would be driven by the home and then probably after that the car – both environments where voice control is really important,” Paul Firth, Amazon UK’s head of Amazon Music, told Music Week.
The extension of Alexa to the Amazon Music app also enables users to make voice activation requests beyond music, such as asking about the day’s weather.
“Amazon Music customers already know and love Alexa from listening on Echo devices,” said Steve Boom, VP of Amazon Music. “Now our mobile listeners can enjoy an entirely new app experience that combines the power and simplicity of Alexa voice controls with the visual richness of the Amazon Music app.”
The catalogue for Amazon’s premium subscription service totals more than 40 million songs.
Alexa is now available by updating the Amazon Music app for iOS or Android. Alexa is also available for Amazon Music customers on Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Edition and Fire Tablets.
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