The bond between music and branded merchandise just got tighter and techier.

Amazon Music announced on Wednesday, March 10, that swag from select artists will now be available for purchase directly within its mobile app.

The move intensifies Amazon’s music competition with Spotify and Apple Music, and further highlights the growing importance of swag sales to musical artists, especially as COVID-19 continues to cancel in-person concerts and as more traditional revenue channels, like sales of physical full albums, fade amid streaming and one-off downloads.

my merch store is live on @amazonmusic ! #amazonmusicmerch gxhttps://t.co/2JiHJkLfaM pic.twitter.com/EPv1rOIRNv

— Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani) March 10, 2021

“Fashion is an inseparable part of music and culture, and with the addition of merchandise to the Amazon Music app, we’re making it easier for artists to connect with their fans through our app,” said Sean McMullan, Amazon Music’s Director of Artist Product and Services. “It’s long been Amazon Music’s mission to strengthen the connection between artists and fans, and today’s launch furthers that goal by uniting streaming audio, music videos, livestreams, podcasts and now merch under one roof for the first time.”

So excited that my exclusive line of #AmazonMusicMerch with @amazonmusic is available now! https://t.co/unIrje1vQH pic.twitter.com/0EbWOum9zB

— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) March 11, 2021

Going forward, Amazon Music will feature artist merchandise in the app on the pages of participating artists side-by-side with those performers’ songs, albums, livestreams and music videos. Amazon noted that a majority of the merch is available with Prime shipping for Prime members.

Looking to make a special splash with the announcement of the new offering, Amazon Music revealed the debut of exclusive merchandise collections from a range of artists, including a new line of apparel developed by pop singer Selena Gomez to celebrate her upcoming Spanish-language EP, REVELACIÓN, and an exclusive collection celebrating the rock band Weezer.

There's always room for more Weez in your closet. The #AmazonMusicMerch collection on @AmazonMusic can make that happen https://t.co/yCug7EFCVw pic.twitter.com/M2FTptqyT5

— weezer (@Weezer) March 10, 2021

Additionally, Amazon Music’s exclusive offerings feature new merch from Gwen Stefani, Metallica, Queen Naija, Pentatonix, Florida Georgia Line, and Queen. Meanwhile, Wale has made Amazon Music the exclusive online retail partner for his merchandise.

Speaking to Billboard, McMullan noted that Amazon works with artists’ existing merch companies, while also having its own merch-on-demand business, Merch by Amazon, that’s partnering with several artists on merch production.

“That's a really fun way to create merch and experiment with different designs, because there's no risk for the artists, they don't have to manufacture it,” McMullan told Billboard. “It's all made on-demand. So, a lot of times, the merch companies will partner with our Merch by Amazon team and create different designs through that. Really, there's lots of different ways to partner with us because of Amazon's scale.”