Amazon Music‘s streaming service and online music store looks set to launch in Brazil as the service searches for a Head of Digital Music to lead efforts in the region.
Whoever fills the Head of Digital Music role spotted by MBW will launch and develop Amazon Music in Brazil and will be responsible for hiring and developing a local team based in Sao Paulo.
The arrival of Amazon Music in Brazil will add to the 28 countries Amazon‘s on-demand Unlimited streaming tier launched in at the end of last year.
It looks like the arrival will happen swiftly — the advertised role requires experience in setting up and launching operations across multiple countries in a short period of time.
“In this role you will hire and develop a team to drive the rollout of Amazon Music,” reads the ad. “You will work with the Amazon Music team and local in-region Amazon teams to develop a world-class and locally relevant digital music customer experience, and ensure that Amazon is well positioned versus other offerings.”
Amazon will join streaming rivals Spotify, which arrived in Brazil in 2014, and Apple Music, which arrived in the region after its global launch in 2016.
Brazil is Latin America’s largest market and the ninth biggest recorded music market in the world, according to 2017 IFPI figures.
Last year, the country’s music market returned to growth and generated recorded music revenue of $295.8m, up nearly 18% by $45m on 2016.
This growth followed a 3% decline in 2016.
After launching towards the end of 2016, Amazon Music has surpassed “tens of millions” of paying subscribers – suggesting it is now comfortably above 20m.
That 20m figure includes both its premium Music Unlimited subscribers and its Amazon Prime members, who are offered a limited-catalog platform for free.
According to MBW analysis, Amazon and Apple could, combined, end 2018 neck-and-neck with Spotify when it comes to global paying subscribers.
The arrival of Amazon in a significant new market could very well accelerate its position in that race.Music Business Worldwide
