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Amazon's Audible stocks up on original radio programming
The e-commerce giant is tapping comedians and public radio for exclusive content.
Amazon really wants you to listen to its podcast and audio-book service, Audible. And it's hoping to win you over by grabbing comedians like Maria Bamford and folks from the public radio and podcast world for original content, according to Bloomberg. Audible's also looking to fill some 100 jobs around the world (there's a recruiting fair in New Jersey next week), looking for software engineers, designers, lawyers and a slew of writers. In so many words, Jeff Bezos and Co. are working to separate Audible from the myriad other places you can find podcasts and audio books by creating exclusive programming for its a la carte and $14.95 per-month subscription service.
Bloomberg purports that this could be a natural fit for the Echo speaker, and that's a pretty logical connection to make. Think about it this way: Amazon's in the business of selling people stuff that makes it easier to consume its products. Could the Echo be the online shopping juggernaut's audio version of the Kindle for ebooks or Kindle Fire HD tablet for its Prime Video service? This move puts the needle closer to "yes" than it does any other direction.
