Amazon has removed a clause prohibiting disparaging comments about the company from its podcast content license agreement on Amazon Music and Amazon’s Audible subsidiary.
News of the non-disparagement clause prompted a backlash when it surfaced earlier this week. Since then, Amazon has removed a clause prohibiting “advertising or messages that disparage or are directed against Amazon or any Service.” The change in the agreement was spotted and reported overnight by journalist Matthew Keys, who also broke the news originally.
Amazon and Audible have yet to comment publicly on their plans to offer podcasts from third-party content providers directly on their platforms. The two Amazon-owned services will be competing with Apple, Google, Spotify and others major podcast distribution platforms.
The company sent a mass email earlier this week to podcast producers, inviting them submit their shows for distribution. The email described the plans as confidential but skipped the customary step of first securing agreements from the recipients to treat the information confidentially. Information about the plans quickly surfaced on social media and in news reports.
The reach of Alexa-enabled devices, via the Amazon Music service, could appeal to many podcast producers as an avenue for expanding the The message notes that the shows would be available via services including Amazon Music’s free tier, and Amazon Music overall has 55 million customers.
GeekWire was among the podcast producers that received the email, but we have so far chosen not to submit our shows for inclusion. Although the non-disparagement clause has been removed, the standard agreement still includes a provision requiring participants to refrain from disclosing information that Amazon considers confidential.
Amazon has previously offered podcasts on its Echo speakers via the TuneIn music service.
