Amazon Prime Concerts Coming Exclusively To Members This Year

Amazon has announced that it will soon start a series of live concerts called prime live Events with tickets exclusively available Prime members. Those who won’t attend the concerts in person will also be able to watch the performances through Amazon Prime Video.

“Today Amazon announced Prime Live Events, a new live entertainment program exclusively for Prime members giving fans the opportunity to see their favorite artists perform up close and personal in iconic locations,” Amazon said on its press release. “Prime Live Events will be filmed and made exclusively available on Prime Video internationally, allowing Prime members to watch the concerts at no extra cost to their membership.”

The first Amazon Prime Live Event will take place at the Round Chapel in Hackney, London with Blondie taking the stage. Tickets for the event will go on sale this Thursday for Prime members for £150 (around US$194), according to The Verge. Amazon says that the venue will only accommodate 750 fans.

On June 12, Alison Moyet will be playing her first London show of 2017 at the Round Chapel. Tickets for that concert will also go on sale this Thursday. The third Prime Live Event is scheduled for June 16 at the Porchester Hall with the band Texas performing in front of 600 fans.

For July 25 and 26, Katie Melua will perform at the Cadogan Hall in Chelsea for 770 fans each night. Ticket prices for Texas and Katie Melua will be old for £75 (around US$100), while Alison Moyet’s tickets costs £95 (around US$125).

Amazon says that it plans to announce more artists throughout the year. However, it didn’t say if future Prime Live Events will be hosted in the United States. Amazon also encouraged its customers to sign up to get updates on Prime Live Events every Tuesday.

“We want to offer Prime members the best live entertainment experience they’ve ever had by giving them the chance to see their favorite artists perform up close and personal in iconic and intimate venues,” Amazon tickets general manager Geraldine Wilson said.

“We’re delighted to reveal our first line up of fantastic artists performing Prime Live Events in stunning venues to audiences of less than 800, and Prime members in the UK and internationally will have the chance to watch the performance on Prime Video.”

Amazon’s new Prime Live Event offer is seen as its new strategy to get more people to jump on board its Prime Video subscription service. Although all of the live concerts will be in the U.K., Prime Video subscribers all over the world will be able to stream it.

Amazon’s strategy might have been its way to undercut its main competitor, Netflix, which currently focuses on delivering live standup comedy shows, according to Engadget. If Amazon is able to keep getting big names for it Prime Live Events, it could convince more users to subscribe to Prime.

This won’t actually be the first time that Amazon has hosted its own live concert events. Back in December, the company hosted live performances from Robbie Williams and John Legend at The Round Chapel and at the St. John Hackney Church. Like the new Prime Live Events, the two concerts were exclusive to Prime subscribers and were later available to stream on Prime Video.

Engadget reports that the two concerts from last year were Amazon’s trial run for Prime Live Event. Amazon’s new commitment to hosting live concerts also adds pressure to Apple, which has been annually hosting the Apple Music Festival in London since 2007.