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Amazon MP3 Store to Go Global in 2008

Posted by Soulskill on from the and-in-this-corner dept.

Amazon announced in a press release today their plans to sell DRM-free music worldwide through the Amazon MP3 store beginning later this year. This news is being viewed by some as the latest volley in Amazon's digital music sales war with Apple's iTunes. Since Amazon has completed its plans to offer DRM-free music from all four major record labels (most recently, Sony and Warner), the global availability of the MP3s can only be excellent news for customers.

8 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. It's about time... by TofuMatt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is what I've been waiting for, seriously. I will be able to buy my music online, and actually own it now. I don't think anything more than "awesome" need be said.

    --
    -Matthew Riley "TofuMatt" MacPherson
    I have a website
    1. Re:It's about time... by h4rm0ny · · Score: 5, Insightful


      Not since iTunes broke Linux compatibility. Count me in as another customer sitting here with a pile of cash waiting them to actually let me buy from them. And more competition in the market is a good thing, anyway.

      --

      Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
    2. Re:It's about time... by ShieldW0lf · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're an idiot.

      No, I'm a genius. IQ is over 160.

      If you don't like the MPAA why are you listening to their music?

      Because it's not their property, it's my culture. I don't recognize their claim to it.

      You're inventing crazy reasons to keep on stealing.

      First off, duplicating is not stealing. Stealing is when you take a physical object that is someone elses personal posession. And secondly, my actions are not crazy, they are tactically sound means of working towards my goals.

      And I mean literally crazy, you come off as a paranoid schizophrenic.

      I'm not paranoid. I'm actively attempting to subvert and sabotage the critical infrastructure of my enemies, and they are after me. It's not like I'm the only one. Maybe some day you'll join us. Then we can all afford to sing as one.

      --
      -1 Uncomfortable Truth
    3. Re:It's about time... by dangitman · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, I'm a genius. IQ is over 160.

      Citing an IQ figure as proof of genius only demonstrates idiocy of the highest order.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  2. Re:Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices? by RedK · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I shopped a lot at Allofmp3.com and now at their sister site, mp3sparks.com. However, there is no denying that their insane prices were in part due to not giving anything back to the artists/record companies. You can scream all you want about artists not really getting much back from record companies all you want, but 0.01$ is still more than 0.00$.

    --
    "Not to mention all the idiots who use words like boxen."
    Anonymous Coward on Monday August 04, @06:49PM
  3. Re:Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices? by DrEldarion · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's easy to charge low prices when you don't actually pay the people who make the music.

  4. Re:Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices? by Niten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Will any of them ever match AllOfMp3's prices?

    No, because unlike AllOfMp3 these stores are operating according to U.S. (or similar) law; and more importantly to me, purchases from Amazon MP3, iTunes Plus, et al. result in the artists actually getting paid for their work. (Yes, I know, "the evil record labels don't pay their artists that much anyway, blah blah blah"... but if an artist is in a bad contract, at least it's an arrangement that he or she voluntarily entered into; AllOfMp3, on the other hand, is profiting off these artists' work without any compensation or agreement. If you give a crap about your favorite musicians, you don't buy their stuff from AllOfMp3.)

    Quality rate, obscure bands not signed by one of the big corporations, etc.

    Amazon MP3's quality is good, better than iTunes but not quite on par with iTunes Plus. Tracks are encoded with LAME 3.97 at a high VBR bitrate (~230 kbps or so?). The collection is still a tiny bit spotty, but growing fast. It certainly has a better selection than iTunes Plus does, by a long shot. All things considered, it's an excellent service.

    My biggest pet peeve with Amazon MP3 is that while you can purchase individual songs through the standard Amazon web interface, purchasing whole albums (and thereby receiving the album discount, where applicable) requires the Amazon MP3 Downloader. On the plus side, this program seems well-written, can pause downloads or resume interrupted ones, automatically imports your songs into iTunes or other MP3 players' libraries, and doesn't behave suspiciously. But why should it be necessary? The downloader is currently available for OS X and Windows, and a Linux version is "forthcoming".

  5. Re:Can't believe it! by k2enemy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Steve Jobs claimed a while back that he didn't like DRM, and had to do it because of the labels. Now we have Amazon selling true MP3s for all four major labels. So where's Steve?

    Based on what I've read, I think the record companies are trying to avoid a situation where iTunes has a monopsony in the (wholesale) market for digital music. If iTunes is the only reseller of digital music then Apple has a lot of bargaining power in price negotiations and will be able to pay the labels a low price.

    By not allowing Apple to sell tracks DRM free while at the same time allowing stores like Amazon to do so, they allow the other stores to gain market share and catch up a little with Apple. Then no one buyer has the entire market and the record labels can retain some price setting power.