Bill Carr, Amazon's head of digital content, is leaving

Carr helped transform Amazon into a big player in the video and music streaming spaces with Prime

Just earlier today I wrote a little bit about much Amazon's business has changed when talking about itsrecent investments in hardware. But there are other ways as well, including the wide variety of digital content, including both music and video, it now offers, along with its own original shows. 

Those efforts are mainly the work of Bill Carr, the company's head of digital. Now, after 15 years at Amazon, Carr is saying goodbye, it was confirmed to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday,

An Amazon spokesperson told the Journal that Carr was leaving at the end of this year, and that he planned to spend time with family and travel, but the spokesperson did not specify any potential future plans he might have.

“He has other plans after that but not in the near term and nothing to share now,” the company said.

Under Carr's leadership, Amazon has been able to compete in both the video and music streaming spaces.

It has gone against video streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, with its video subscription service Amazon Prime. As of the end of last year, it was estimated that Prime had at least 16 million subscribers. 

While it has access to exclusive content through deals with major distributors, Amazon has also gotten intooriginal programming as well, with shows like “Alpha House," which stars John Goodman and was created by Garry Trudeau, as well as “Betas," as well the acclaimed series “Transparent" with  Jeffrey Tambor and Gaby Hoffman.

In June, Amazon expanded Prime to include a music subcription service as well, giving members unlimited, ad-free access to over a million songs at no additional cost to their membership. In the week following its introduction, Prime members streamed tens of millions of songs and added tens of millions of songs and more than a million Prime Playlists to their music libraries.

Losing Carr might wind up being a big blow to Amazon, because Prime is actually a veritable revenue generator in itself.

Earlier this year, a report by Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy estimated that Amazon had 10 million Prime subscribers by the end of 2012, up from four million at the end of 2011. The Kindle Fire played a big role in that growth, as subscriptions exploded after Amazon began offering the free 30-day trial with each Kindle Fire purchase. And while Prime subscribers only represent about 4% of Amazon’s 182 million active users, they represent 10% of all purchases. Prime subscribers also spend more than non-subscribers: $1,200 versus $500, respectively.

Amazon prime costs $79 annually, of which Amazon pockets $78. It breaks even on shipping and all of the other things it offers Prime subscribers, but that $78 per subscriber works out to make up one-third of Amazon’s consolidated segment operating income in 2012, according to the report.

In short, Prime is a major source of revenue for the company. In fact, the company only seems to be interested in getting into hardware as a way to boost Prime subscription levels. That's how important it is.

There was no indication as to if Amazon has any successor in mind for Carr's position.

(Image source: zimbio.com)