Amazon Music adds live Twitch streams to counter Apple and YouTube

How does Amazon Music fend off increasingly video-friendly rivals such as Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music? By adapting to a pandemic-struck world where concerts are often virtual.

Amazon has added Twitch live streaming to Music’s apps on Android and iOS, giving you the chance to watch performances and interviews in the same app where you already listen to songs. You can watch on an artist’s profile page, and you’ll get alerts when they go live. It doesn’t matter whether you’re using a free or paid Amazon Music tier.

Musicians only need to link their Amazon Music and Twitch accounts to get started.

Amazon Music and Twitch: A perfect match

In some ways, this is a practical necessity. When artists can’t go on tour, streaming is a major source of income — this could help some performers stay afloat until it’s safe to return to public venues. Twitch concert streaming has blossomed during the pandemic, and this could provide a larger audience.

Read more: The best music streaming apps and services for Android

There’s also the competitive reality. Apple Music and Spotify are increasingly drawing attention to videos, and YouTube Music focuses on them by its very nature. This not only helps Amazon stay relevant but potentially gives it an edge by giving you quick access to the live concerts that would otherwise require extra effort to see.

Of course, this makes the most sense if you either already use Amazon Music or like the idea of an all-in-one service that blends music and live gigs. Spotify and Apple already dominate the streaming music scene, and you just need the Twitch app if you want to watch these streams while keeping your existing audio service. Still, this gives Amazon a way to stand out — and it might make sense if you don’t care to juggle different apps when supporting a favorite band.