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Amazon DRM-Free Music Store Goes Beta
LowSNR writes "Amazon this morning moved their DRM-free music store into open beta. According to the release, 'Since all our digital music downloads are DRM-free, you can play them on anything that plays mp3s including PCs, Macs(tm), iPods(tm), Zunes(tm), Zens(tm), iPhones(tm), RAZRs(tm), and BlackBerrys. Plus, our Amazon MP3 Downloader application makes it easy to add your downloads to iTunes(tm) and Windows Media Player(tm), so you can sync up your devices or burn your music to CD hassle-free.' Not to mention Linux." Of course, without DRM few of the major labels play with them.
So if while testing I get some music for free, do I have to return it?
My work here is dung.
" Zunes"
don't be so sure... someone would had to have actually BOUGHT one of these in order to make sure they can play mp3s.
eMusic has been around and has been DRM free. Their selection is probably larger than Amazon's at this point. Best part is when I import the mp3s into iTunes the songs are properly recognized and the album covers are downloaded accordingly. It looks to me that some tests at least goes on there to make sure that it is compatible with iTunes.
Hmm...maybe something harder...Neutral Milk Hotel? check. Danielle Dax? aww...so sad, not check. Mongol 800? no...too bad.
It seems just about everything that I listen to that is available somewhere is available here, so what am I missing? Even better though, if it's not available as an MP3 Amazon redirects me to a cd or vinyl copy. iTunes, etc. don't do that.
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Maybe I'm not 'mainstream' in what I listen to, but I just checked, and the first 6 albums I could think of were all available there. I really hope this will take off, and then the 'major' music labels will soon feel the threat if they don't offer DRM-free.
Something that no one has mentioned so far is that these mp3s are 256k bitrate (at least the few I checked). I'm not an audiophile with tubes or anything, but I do think that straight mp3 at 128 sounds off. I for one welcome our new DRM-free music overlords.
They seem to be high VBR - around 210-260 according to iTunes, and encoded with LAME 3.97
But this is hardly the first DRM-free music download service. I've used eMusic off and on for years. How does this compare and how does it improve on the other DRM-free services that already exist? In the past, the main complaint about such services was the lack of mainstream music from major labels. Won't this be the same for Amazon's offering?
"You call it a new way of thinking; I call it regression to ignorance!" -- Operation Ivy
256 kbps VBR
Of course, without DRM few of the major labels play with them.
****
The reality is that 90% of the stuff out there isn't on BMG or one of the few big labels anymore. In any case, it blows a big hole in ITunes. No DRM, cheaper, and a pretty large catalog. I know of several smaller labels that are going to almost certainly stop selling on ITunes as a result.
All Itunes can do at this point is damage control. It's the old Apple proprietary mentality at work again. And Apple getting burnt again by the cheaper and more open alternatives.
Oh - the bitrate appears to be 256K. Another plus - it's actually fairly decent quality.
According to a response on the Washington Post blog post about this, the download manager is required for album downloads, although not for single tracks. And ... "In addition, the download manager only works on XP, Vista, and Mac OS X 10.4 (or higher)." Unfortunately, I can't get to the Amazon site to check right now.
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
I had a quick look at how much music by Sibelius I can find, and it's over 200 albums, which, I think, is eccellent.
Nothing by the less-known composers like Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (the more talented son of J. S. Bach) but still, pretty satisfactory.
Sh*t - and just when I decided to save up some money for next summer.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
The Top 100 tracks http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/dmusic/digital-music-track are $0.89 each. I only had to go down to #17 to find one that I recognize (but wouldn't buy) - Blondie/Heart of Glass. A few steps down at #21 I found one to buy, Floyd/Comfortably Numb. All the other tracks (not top-100) on the double album are $0.99 or you can get all 26 tracks for $8.99. All 256 kbps non-drm'd files. This is how music buying should have been from day one.
Still, cool :) . I expect they'll bring this to Amazon worldwide soon.
EldavoJohn I agree with your comment regarding the fact that un-signed musicians are now able to advertise their content via Amazon.Com's Online Store however there are also many other vectors which are able to be used to promote un-signed artists, of which include Jamendo.Com; although the file format used is primarily an OGG file format, a format which multiple multimedia applications, of which include Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 and Apple iTunes are unable to process without the installation of an additional codec. Amazon.Com has become a serious consideration however it's a pity that that Online Store is only available to residents of the United States Of America, and, being a resident of the United Kingdom, I'm unable to use it. Until the Online Store is available in the United Kingdom, I will continue to perouse Jamendo.Com. http://www.jamendo.com/ - Jamendo.Com - Open Your Ears
Yep, it says US only, but I'm in the UK and I just purchased a song. When you are asked to confirm your billing address, put in a dummy US address. I used this:
"
1 Infinite Loop
New York
Cupertino, CA 95014
"
(Apple's US headquarters address - it's valid).
When asked for your phone number, put in your full international dialing number.
Result? It works. Raw MP3 downloads. Legal. I'm using a Mac, and it works fine with Firefox, Safari and with my iPod and on iTunes.
From the "Top 100 Best Sellers", I see that Linux users can get it for 89 cents. Nice one
But seriously, Bill Gates didn't pay $12 Million for "Start Me Up". He paid 89 cents like everyone else.
What he paid $11,999,999.11 for was the right to leave out the line "You make a grown man cry".
"Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
Tag this effectivebydesign maybe?
insight through the mind
Is Amazon watermarking or hashing these, so that when they show up on Torrent sites, they can prove wrongdoing?
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
-- From Amazon's MP3 Music Service: Terms of Use --
"you agree that you will not redistribute, transmit, assign, sell, broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, adapt, edit, sub-license or otherwise transfer or use the Digital Content."
That sentence starts out, "Except as set forth in Section 2.1 above, you agree..." Section 2.1, in its entirety, says, "Upon your payment of our fees for Digital Content, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Digital Content for your personal, non-commercial, entertainment use, subject to and in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. You may copy, store, transfer and burn the Digital Content only for your personal, non-commercial, entertainment use." This is exactly what you'd expect, except maybe the non-transferrable part.
Quoting a partial sentence the way you did, I'm tempted to think you're just trolling.