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Amazon reportedly building live audio business

After several moves to expand into podcasts, Amazon is reportedly investing in a live audio service for Amazon Music.

Rae Hodge Former senior editor
Rae Hodge was a senior editor at CNET. She led CNET's coverage of privacy and cybersecurity tools from July 2019 to January 2023. As a data-driven investigative journalist on the software and services team, she reviewed VPNs, password managers, antivirus software, anti-surveillance methods and ethics in tech. Prior to joining CNET in 2019, Rae spent nearly a decade covering politics and protests for the AP, NPR, the BBC and other local and international outlets.
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Amazon is reportedly building a live audio service for use with Alexa. The online retail giant is investing heavily in an effort led by its music division that would include paying podcast networks, musicians and celebrities to use the feature for live conversations, shows and events, according to a Tuesday report from Axios.

As podcast and live audio services surged during 2020, Amazon expanded its music subscription service to include podcasts. In December, Amazon announced the acquisition of podcast publisher Wondery. 

Amazon is the latest tech giant investing in podcasts in the hope of popularizing its streaming services and, by extension, the hardware it sells you to access them. 

Amazon didn't immediately return CNET's request for comment. 

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