Hello and welcome to the first of what will be a weekly series. Each week I will be bringing you a new chapter from my upcoming book. Each chapter focuses on one specific streaming platform and what artists can do to maximize opportunities with the platform’s provided tools. In the finished book, there will be a strong focus for each checklist item regarding the "how" this benefits the artist, "why" it’s important, and how to do it. I've trimmed lots of the additional text to make this more informative, less wordy, and easier to work through.

Up first is Amazon Music. I hope you enjoy this first installment.

Amazon Music - The Artists Checklist

Amazon Music began in 2007 as Amazon MP3, a digital store selling music downloads. In 2014, Amazon expanded into music streaming with Amazon Prime Music, available to Prime members at no extra cost. Two years later, Amazon Music Unlimited launched, offering a larger catalog and more features.

In 2020, Amazon Music for Artists (AM4A) launched. This app allows artists to personalize their profiles, pitch their music, sell merchandise, and access a range of other features to enhance their presence on the platform.

Amazon Music for Artists and is available on the web at artists.amazon.co m and as a mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

You will need an Amazon account to be able to sign in and claim your profile. Creating an Amazon account is free and can be used to log in to multiple Amazon products including Twitch.

Once logged in, you can request access on the main screen. You will be greeted with a form where you should add as much information as you can to prove that you are the artist or why you should have access to that artist (e.g. you are a manager, label or distributor for the artist).

To get expedited access, you can log in with your distributor credentials if you distribute your music to Amazon Music using CD Baby, DistroKid or TuneCore. This is the quickest known way to get access and avoid longer waiting periods while someone at Amazon verifies your request.

Now that you’ve got access, let's dive in to the Amazon Music for Artists features.

Artist Profile

☐ Profile Photo and Background Image

You can upload a profile photo and background image by going to the Profile and Tools screen at artists.amazon.co m or clicking the person icon in the app on your phone.

☐ Add A Bio

Bios were made available in the Amazon Music app in 2024. There isn’t a way to add these via Amazon Music for Artists as of yet. To request a new biography or update an existing one your can email content.music@xperi.com. Be sure to include "Amazon Music Bio Request" or "Amazon Music Bio Correction" in the subject line. It’s also good practice to include a link to your artist profile to help with matching the bio to the right artist.

Merch

☐ Sell Merch on Your Artist Profile

You can sell your own merchandise on Amazon and link it to your Amazon Music artist page. You can print your own merch or have Amazon handle printing and shipping.

Looking for some inspiration. Check out this example from AC/DC.

amazon.com/acd c

It is worth knowing that the merch products added will only show on the artist profile for Amazon Music listeners in the United States currently.

All the latest details on Amazon Music Merch for Artists can be found at artists.amazonmusic.com/merc h

Editorial Pitching

☐ Pitch A New Release

You can pitch an upcoming release directly within the Amazon Music for Artists App. This can be one or multiple upcoming releases that have been uploaded via your distributor. Currently you can also pitch songs up to two weeks after their release date.

Benefits of filling out this form prior to release day include:

A push notification being sent to followers on release day. This will be sent to their phones via the Amazon Music app. It will also be available on Alexa enabled speakers and other smart devices.
Editorial playlist consideration by the Amazon Music curation team.
Reaching more listeners long term through populating this form with data such as mood, genre, similar sounding artists and more. This allows your music to possibly be delivered to listeners when a playlist or album from a similar artist ends.

Take the time to add as much detail as possible when filling out the submission forms because you are giving your music opportunities beyond just editorial playlist adds.

Social Media

☐ Share Hype Cards

Hype Cards are customizable images to share a milestone (such as a playlist add), or highlight an album, song, or artist on Amazon Music. You can customize the design, (Portrait, Landscape or Square) and color as well. You can then download shareable images which can be posted directly to social media, shared in emails, or wherever you choose.

Hype Cards can be found in Amazon Music for Artists under Hype Deck.

Don’t have a subscription to Amazon Music? You can go to music.amazon.co m in most web browsers without the need to sign in. You can search the music library and copy share links to tracks, albums, artists, podcasts and music videos.

When posting a Hype Card on social media, it is important to tag the relevant Amazon Music account as this could lead to more eye’s on your music.

☐ Tag Amazon Music on Social Media

When posting a Hype Card, or links to your music on Amazon Music, it is important to also tag the relevant Amazon accounts in your post. It’s an opportunity to make some noise and potentially get their attention.

Facebook:
AmazonMusic (Global)
AmazonMusicDeSchlager (Germany)

X:
@AmazonMusic, @AmazonMusicUK,
@AmazonMusicJP, @AmazonMusicMX, @AmazonMusicIN

Instagram:
@AmazonMusic, @AmazonMusicUK,
@AmazonMusicDE, @AmazonMusicJP, @AmazonMusicMX,
@AmazonMusicBR, @AmazonPrimeMusicIN

Amazon Music also has social media accounts for specific genres. If you create Hip-Hop, R&B or German Deutchrap you should also tag these handles in your posts.

@rotation (Hip-Hop and R&B)
@auf_level (German Deutchrap)

Amazon Music suggests tagging @AmazonMusic over using #AmazonMusic - this has been mentioned previously in their online documentation. They also say that by tagging them in your posts it "makes it easy for us to find, engage, and share your posts to our followers". Plus, hashtags are less relevant nowadays.

Alexa

☐ Ask Fans to Request Your Music

Have your followers request you directly from their Alexa device. The Amazon Music team pays close attention to the number of Voice requests for an artist through Alexa. In fact, Voice Requests are one of the most important metrics when talking about an artists popularity on the platform. Requests can be made to Alexa using artist name, album name, song title or by singing part of the song lyrics.

In the Voice section in Amazon Music for Artists you can see how many people have requested your music. Voice Requests include a fan asking Alexa to play a song, album, or by singing or speaking part of the lyrics. You can also see how many people have asked for your by saying “Alexa Play Artist”.

TIP: Add your song lyrics to Amazon through your distributor, or a service such as LyricFind or MusixMatch as fans may not know your song title but can speak (or sing) the lyrics to Alexa to find it.

Get your fans to follow you on their Alexa device to receive notifications when you release new music. Fans can simply say “Alexa, follow ARTIST NAME on Amazon Music”. If you have an artist name that is unique to pronounce you can teach your fans how to pronounce the name correctly in video posts on social media. You can also speak directly with your label or distributor and inform them of the correct pronunciation of your artist name, and they can deliver that information to Amazon for you.

Amazon Music Checklist

☐ Profile Photo and Background Image

☐ Add A Bio

☐ Sell Merch on Your Artist Profile

☐ Pitch A New Release

☐ Share Hype Cards

☐ Tag Amazon Music on Social Media

☐ Ask Fans to Request Your Music

That's it for the first installment. Did you learn something new? Was this helpful?

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