Last Christmas, Amazon didn’t quite give you its heart – but it did give you its very own album.
All Is Bright featured recording stars such as Liz Phair, Yoko Ono, The Flaming Lips and Beth Orton laying down original versions of traditional Christmas songs.
As MBW noted earlier this year, the release – officially issued via ‘Amazon Content Services’ – effectively turned the retailer into a record label.
Amazon directly commissioned, funding and distributed the project, and it’s also done the same for a couple of other albums.
First there was the soundtrack to its Golden Globe-winning series Transparent; a US black comedy available on its Prime Video service.
And then, earlier this year, came Amazon Acoustics, featuring what Amazon called ‘some of our favourite artists getting intimate… with unplugged covers and originals’.
Now the firm is at it again.
Indie for the Holidays (pictured, main) is a new collection of holiday music, exclusively available to stream on Prime Music and purchase on Amazon in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Austria and Japan.
Just like All Is Bright, the album features versions of Christmas songs – this time, many of them originals – from indie artists.
The LP’s roll-call includes YACHT, Rogue Wave, Lisa Loeb, Langhorne Slim, Tuxedo, Ivan & Alyosha, The LeeVees & Matisyahu, A Silent Film, Sondre Lerche & Jherek Bischoff and more.
“We always want to deliver something special to our customers and Indie for the Holidays is the next great way we’re connecting customers with not only new, original holiday music but with amazing artists and bands that they may not have discovered yet,” stated Steve Boom, VP of Digital Music for Amazon.
“We’re excited to follow last year’s popular All Is Bright holiday collection with songs from some of today’s best indie artists for customers to enjoy throughout the season.”
“It’s been a really fun, unique experience working with Amazon and I’m excited to be able to bring my song ‘Winter Time’ to Amazon Prime members and fans,” stated Dia Frampton from ARCHIS.
“I wrote ‘Winter Time’ while reflecting on the over-glamorized idea of summer love—it is a song about what happens after the sun sets. Will you still love me through the good and the bad? Will you still love me when the winter time comes? I’m a hopeless romantic, and this song, hopefully, will feel hopeful and warm to everyone listening on Amazon.”
Indie For The Holidays: Newly-written songs:
- A Silent Film—“Christmas at Our House”
- ARCHIS—“Winter Time”
- Bhi Bhiman—“Who’s Up There?”
- Esmé Patterson—“If I”
- Family of the Year—“NYE”
- Fruit Bats—“Christmas with You”
- Ivan & Alyosha—“Being Home For Christmas”
- James Apollo—“Go Trim Another Tree”
- Kill Hannah—“This Is Our December”
- Lisa Loeb—“Champagne (I’m Ready)”
- Moon Taxi—“It’s Only Christmas”
- Oscar—“It’s Christmas Again”
- Reverend Horton Heat—“Donuts in the Snow”
- Robert Pollard (of Guided by Voices)—“What Begins on New Year’s Day”
- Rogue Wave—“Christmastime”
- Sondre Lerche & Jherek Bischoff—“Surviving Christmas”
- The LeeVees & Matisyahu—“Outside of December”
- Turin Brakes—“New Year’s Day”
- Tuxedo—“Holiday Love”
- YACHT—“Christmas Alone”
New renditions of holiday favorites:
- Amason—“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
- Anna von Hausswolff—“Birthday Boy”
- Avid Dancer—“Jingle Bells”
- Born Cages—“Ave Maria”
- Langhorne Slim—“Deck The Halls (With Boughs of Holly)”
- SOAK–“The Christmas Waltz”
- Wild Child—“Silent Night”
Music Business Worldwide
