Amazon reportedly planning to launch its own music streaming service

If it wasn’t crowded enough already, the music streaming space is about to get even more competitive.

According to Reuters, Amazon plans to launch its music streaming service later this year.

Like the other main players in the space, Amazon plans to price its $9.99 per month. Despite the fact it will be a late entrant into the space, the e-commerce giant reportedly sees music streaming as an integral way to make the Echo, its personal assistant in a can, more compelling, particularly as companies like Apple and Google work to their release their own versions of the product.

The company has yet to release the Echo in Canada, though Alexa, the voice-activated personal assistant that comes as part of the device, is scheduled to come here in 2017 thanks to the Pebble Core. Amazon also recently started hiring software engineers in Canada, suggesting that the Echo itself will make its way to Canada before too long.

That said, none of that is a guarantee Amazon will launch its music streaming offering in Canada. Music licensing agreements are notoriously complicated, particularly when it comes to artist rights in different countries. Moreover, the company has a notorious history of overlooking the Canadian market.

Photo courtesy of Flicker user Steve Jurvetson. 

[source]Reuters[/source]