May 13 2007

Podcasts take Amazon customer closer to products

The latest marketing innovation from Amazon.com is podcasting. Amazon Podcast network launches with four channels of free content to "bring customers closer to celebrity authors, actors and musicians. The four channels are Amazon BookClips, Music You Should Hear, Significant Seven and Amazon Wire.

Press release follows:

Amazon.com today officially launched its Amazon Podcasts network, an original podcast series offering customers four unique channels of free content: Amazon BookClips, Music You Should Hear, Significant Seven and Amazon Wire, all available at www.amazon.com/podcast. The company expects to offer several additional channels in the coming months to meet its customers' increasing demand for rich content related to the products they shop for every day on Amazon.com. Each podcast is available via streaming and download from Amazon.com, and through RSS and iTunes. Amazon Wire is also available on TiVo.

"Amazon Podcasts offers customers exclusive content and interviews they won't find anywhere else," said Kristi Coulter, Senior Manager of Editorial at Amazon.com. "Amazon is continually finding ways to improve the service we provide to our millions of customers. Thanks to this new and innovative podcast series, listeners can get more exclusive information about the artists, authors and actors they love."

The Amazon Podcast network launches with four channels of free content, including:

Amazon BookClips -- A weekly podcast offering customers a free sneak peek at some of the most popular soon-to-be-released audiobooks.

Music You Should Hear -- A free, weekly MP3 podcast whereby customers receive an MP3 recording featuring complete songs from developing and indie artists, selected by Amazon's music editors.

Significant Seven -- A monthly podcast in which book editors from Amazon.com talk about seven of the most exciting upcoming books before they are released. Each book featured in the Significant Seven will be discounted 40 per cent for a limited time.

Amazon Wire -- An exclusive, biweekly podcast featuring interviews with some of today's hottest authors, actors, directors and musicians.

Amazon Wire launches today with a large library of previously recorded content from popular personalities such as personal finance guru Suze Orman, bestselling authors Michael Crichton and Khaled Hosseini, Grammy Award-winning artist Sting, "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels and Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Other popular guests include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, Kirk Douglas, Wes Craven, Madeleine Albright, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Joss Stone.

Subscribers with a broadband-connected TiVo(R) Series2(TM) or Series3(TM) DVR can access a host of online services that deliver timely entertainment and information directly to the television set, now including Amazon Wire. These services can be found under the Music, Photos, Products and More folder on your TiVo box.

"TiVo is consistently looking to provide its subscribers with new and innovative content, and we are excited to further our relationship with Amazon," said Jim Denney, TiVo's vice president of product marketing.

Amazon.com will post information about upcoming Amazon Wire interviews and solicit customer questions before recording the interview, giving listeners a unique opportunity to interact with their favorite stars.

Amazon BookClips also features an archive of content, including "Sunday Morning in Plains" by Jimmy Carter, "Plum Lovin" by Janet Evanovich, "The Sweet Potato Queens' First Big-Ass Novel" by Jill Conner Browne and "The Gospel According to Judas" by Benjamin Iscariot.

The Music You Should Hear archive currently features songs from Grinderman (Nick Cave's new band), former Velocity Girl singer Sarah Shannon, Kelly Sweet, Angelique Kidjo, Mavis Staples and others.

Customers can stream or download the entire archive of Amazon Podcasts free at www.amazon.com/podcast.

Emma Herrod