Amazon MP3 Vs. iTunes Music Store
Ali writes "As discussed here recently, amazon.com has launched a public beta of Amazon MP3, a digital music store that provides DRM-free downloads of over 2 million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels. In comparison, Apple says the iTunes Store now contains over 6 million songs. Here is a head-to-head comparison."
I don't think this is Amazon's doing but the record labels'. They've realized that Apple has acquired sufficient market share to dictate terms to the labels, and if there's one thing the MAFIAA can't stand, it's being dictated to.
It really looks to me like Amazon is being used as a puppet. They are selling Universal's catalog (something Apple can't do DRM-free) at prices lower than most people think are profitable. More than anything, this is about building a competitor so the labels can wrestle back their power.