Amazon Music announced a new beta feature called “Fan Groups” that enables users to build their own communities for sharing information and opinions about their favorite music genres and artists. The feature, testing now in Canada on iOS and Android, encourages music fans to listen to songs shared within the groups and interact via chat threads and user posts, while driving new music discovery in the process. Artists will also have the ability to join groups, providing an opportunity to share exclusive content and interact directly with their fans. “The new destination transforms music listening into an interactive community for fans without having to leave the app,” explains Amazon.

Anyone can create a new group, while administrators have the ability to mute or block members if needed and even delete messages. The feature will be available in the U.S and other global markets beginning next year.

According to Amazon, Fan Groups transforms the listening experience by:

• Making it easier to discuss and discover new music through fan recommendations
• Enabling conversations about your favorite artists and emerging genres
• Allowing members to share and save recommendations from others
• Instantly streaming recommended music without leaving the conversation or the app

“Kickstarting the initial beta launch are several active groups, organically created and populated by real fans,” Amazon explains in its announcement. “These groups span diverse musical interests — from indie rock to country, Punjabi to K-pop, Francophone music to high-energy workout playlists — serving as both entry points for exploration and templates for users to create their own communities.”

Digital Trends points out that Fan Groups has the potential to “bring back the human touch that music apps have lost. No AI recommendations here, just real fans swapping songs and stories with fellow music fans.”

“Fan Groups turn music discovery into a social experience, which is perfect for anyone tired of cold, one-size-fits-all recommendations by AI,” suggests DT. “If this feature becomes a hit, expect other platforms to follow suit.”

The move “represents Amazon’s strategy to compete with Spotify, which has been working to engage users through various social features,” reports TechCrunch. “Spotify introduced a messaging feature in August and also a ‘Jam’ feature that enables users to co-create playlists with friends and listen to songs together.”

SoundCloud and Stationhead are among the other platforms that have been introducing social updates such as playlist creation, direct messaging for artists, and live streaming for listening parties.

Related:
Amazon Music’s Fan Groups Are a Refreshingly Old-School Way to Share and Find Tunes, Engadget, 11/10/25
Alexa+ for iOS and Android Now Available for Amazon Music, ETCentric, 11/7/25