Now that all the major DSPs have given up trying to get exclusives on big acts or albums, the focus has shifted instead to getting them to record exclusive one-off tracks. And Christmas would not be Christmas without Amazon looking to dominate in the small, but temporarily busy, niche of Creating New Recordings Of Christmas Songs By Popular Artists.

Lizzo (‘Someday at Christmas’), GIVĒON (‘The First Noel’), Kane Brown (‘Blue Christmas’), DVSN (‘Amazing Grace’), Stormzy (‘Firebabe’) and Lauren Spencer Smith (‘Last Christmas’) are among the acts getting suitably festive in the studio and creating themed songs for the DSP. Amazon recently expanded its full catalogue from 2m tracks to 100m tracks for all Prime members (although they can only play them in shuffle mode if they are not Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers).

The retailer has also expanded its Vinyl Of The Month Club as it significantly ups its marketing around music.

“Our goal is to always provide the best curated journey for holiday listening,” said Karen Pettyjohn, principal music programmer at Amazon Music. “It’s a balance between a foundation of classics that will wrap you in the warmth of nostalgia, while also introducing you to future holiday hits. We strive to have a playlist for every occasion and mood, centered on your favorite genres. This is the time of year when memories matter the most, and we have created the soundtrack for your season.”

This is clearly part of a concerted push by Amazon to get its full catalogue in front of an even bigger audience, using the (snowman’s) carrot of festive songs that will surely be peppered through the seasonal playlists it serves up over the coming weeks whenever anyone types in the word “Christmas” or asks Alexa to “play some Christmas music”.

Christmas is, after all, a time for giving. Here Amazon is giving the “gift” of exclusive tracks in the hope that listeners give back the “gift” of taking out a full music subscription.