Amazon MP3
- September 25, 2007
- 5 comments
Amazon has finally launched the beta version of their music store simply called Amazon MP3. So far, their collection is considerably smaller than iTunes, but still a decent collection overall. And I’m sure it will grow in the future. I’ve already bought a couple songs from it and am very pleased.
Songs are the same price as iTunes, but if a song is in the top 100 most bought, it sells for just $.89. Albums are also the same price as iTunes.
A major plus for Amazon is their music is DRM free and has better encoding than iTunes music. The Flash-based samples you listen to on the site don’t do the actual song any credit, but are good enough for you to figure out if you want it or not.
One thing I don’t like is that in order to download a song, you need to run the Amazon MP3 Downloader app. I don’t know why you can’t just download the MP3 directly, but I’m sure they have their reasons.
Overall, I think the Amazon MP3 store is a good thing. More competition will keep the price down and our options up. I’ll definitely be checking it regularly for new music.
By the way, I discovered Amy Winehouse while browsing through the store. I bought “Rehab” and “Love is a Losing Game”. She has an amazing voice and tons of talent, but like many talented singers before her, seems hellbent on destroying herself. It’s sad. Hopefully she gets her life in order again and continues to release more great music.
Andy
My guess is that the Amazon MP3 Downloader app is used to “watermark” the songs being downloaded. I haven’t read, or looked into it at all, but that is my uneducated guess at this point.